MLCM 93/05188 



U.S. Department $$ 
of Transportation 

United States 
Coast Guard 




And other aids to navigation in Alaskan History 


FT MEADE 
GenCol1 


Cape Hinchinbrook 


Light Station 
1950s 

















Photo courtesy Alas 



MLCM 93/05188 


_ %^5Si^y\k 

Secretary of State William Seward -- the man who bought Alaska 


2 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















Preface 

Lighthouses are often thought of as buildings of mystique and ro¬ 
mantic charm, isolated at the foot of storm-tossed waves beating upon 
the rocky shore. In Alaska, isolation and lighthouses seem synonymous. 
None of the light stations in Alaska can be reached by car. Most are only 
easily accessible by helicopter. 

"Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaskan History" was 
originally published in 1974 by the state of Alaska as, "Aids to Naviga¬ 
tion in Alaska History". This publication provides an overview of the 
evolution of one mission of the Coast Guard in Alaska. 

Due to the frequent requests for information concerning Coast Guard 
lighthouses in Alaska, the public affairs office of the Seventeenth Coast 
Guard District was granted permission to update and reprint this book 
by the Office of Statewide Cultural Programs, Alaska Division of Parks, 
the agency which originally prepared the text. Special thanks go to Chief 
Public Affairs Specialist Edward L. Moreth and Public Affairs Specialist 
First Class Christopher E. Haley for their diligent work to revise this 
book. Unless noted, all photographs contained in this book were pro¬ 
vided by the U.S. Coast Guard. Anyone with comments concerning this 
publication, should contact the Coast Guard public affairs office by 
writing : 

Commander (dpa) 

Seventeenth Coast Guard District 
Box 3-5000 

Juneau, AK 99802-1217 

The Seventeenth District is dedicating the publishing of "Light¬ 
houses and other aids to navigation in Alaskan History" to the Coast 
Guard Bicentennial — August 4, 1990. We hope this publication is 
enjoyable and increases your historical perspective of the Coast Guard 
and the U.S. Lighthouse Service and their contributions to the state of 
Alaska and its citizens. 


Raymond F. Massey, Jr. 
Lieutenant, U.S. Coast Guard 
Public Affairs Officer 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


3 




Lighthouses 
And other aids to 
navigation in Alaska History 


'"■'oN. 


Originally prepared by: 

Office of Statewide 
Cultural Programs 
Alaska Division of Parks 
Department of Natural Resources 


JUN 19 1991 



Principal Investigator: 

C. M. Brown 
Research Assistant 


William A. Sacheck 
State Historic Preservation Officer 


This study was funded with the assistance of a matching grant from the Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, under provisions of the National Preservation Act of 1966, and revised by the 
Seventeenth Coast Guard District public affairs office in 1990. 


HISTORIC SITES ADVISORY COMMITTEE 


This document has been reviewed and its recommendations found to be in accord with the philoso¬ 
phy and policy of the statewide historic preservation plan. 


Jim L. Bridges Howard Rock 

Architect Historian 


William R. Cashen 
Historian 

Robert A. Frederick 
Historian 


Amos Wallace 
Historian 

Karen Wood Workman 
State Archaeologist 


William A. Sacheck 
State Historic Preservation Officer 


4 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 




TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Page 

Introduction.7 

PART I: Historical Summary 

Aids to Navigation in Alaska History, 1867-1940 .9 

PART II: Light Stations in Alaska History.34 

Sentinel Island.38 

Five Finger Islands.42 

Scotch Cap.46 

Mary Island.50 

Lincoln Rock.52 

Tree Point.54 

Cape Sarichef.58 

Fairway Island.62 

Point Sherman.63 

Guard Islands.64 

Point Retreat.68 

Eldred Rock.70 

Cape Hinchinbrook.74 

Cape St. Elias.78 

Cape Spencer.82 

Cape Decision.84 

Bibliography.86 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


5 
























TABLES 

Table 1 - Number of Aids to Navigation in Alaska, 1890-1940.8 

Table 2 - Light Stations in Alaska.35 


KEY TO FOOTNOTE CODE 


AG.Annual Report of the Governor of Alaska 

AR.Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board or Lighthouse Bureau 

AW.The Alaska Weekly 

ARSC.Annual Report of the Secretary of Commerce 

CDA.Cordova Daily Alaskan 

TCDT or CDT.The Cordova Daily Times 

LL.List of Lights, Buoys, etc. 

USCG.United States Coast Guard 

USCP.United States Coast Pilot 

USCS.United States Coast Survey, 1869 


6 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 



























INTRODUCTION 


TJ 

Aow, when and why the United States government penetrated the Alaska frontier is a 
subject about which few historians are in agreement. Ernest Gruening and Clarence Andrews, for 
example, tend to condemn Washington of willful negligence, of preferring private enterprise to 
develop the land before making a substantial investment. On the opposite pole is another, more 
recent interpretation, held by Morgan Sherwood and Ted Hinckley, who argue that Washington's 
penetration of frontier Alaska occurred along general patterns defined by other American frontier 
experiences; that there was no conscious design to ignore Alaska’s needs, that in fact the historical 
role of the federal government in Alaska is a remarkable story of success. Whether the historical 
debate will ever be settled is a difficult question. If there is a lesson to be learned from the experi¬ 
ences of historians in other nations, particularly England, where the historical problem of social 
penetration and integration has commanded much attention, a great deal more specialized research 
is needed before the gleams of a reliable answer will appear. 

The first part of this study was written in light of that need. It describes briefly the activities of 
one federal institution in Alaska during the years 1867 to 1940, that is, since the purchase of Alaska 
to World War II. Until World War II proved the necessity of airfields and the Alaska-Canada High¬ 
way, the "liquid highway" was the primary mode of transportation between the continental United 
States and Alaska. The services of the Board of Lighthouses (later the Bureau of Lighthouses) were 
important factors in Alaska's economic development. For it was the board's responsibility to ensure 
the safety of marine traffic in Alaska with buoys, daymarks, post lights, light stations and other 
navigational aids. When and how the Light House Board, or its successor, lessened the danger to 
ships making their way along Alaska’s coasts is an index to the degree to which the federal govern¬ 
ment, in general, penetrated the Alaska frontier. That it is only an index needs restatement, for 
some federal agencies afe conceivably more active than others. 

The second part of this study presents historical summaries, architectural descriptions, and pho¬ 
tographs of 161ight stations (lighthouses with resident keepers) in Alaska which may be eligible for 
entry on The National Register of Historic Places. Each of these light stations, all of which are now 
unmanned, are significant in Alaska history for a variety of reasons. Many were constructed to meet 
the requirements of Alaska's rising commerce shortly after the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897/98; they 
are therefore physical testaments of an important event in Alaska history. Several of the more 
recent light stations are physical evidences of that time when the bulk of Alaska's commerce shifted 
from Southeast to Southcentral Alaska. And, of course, some light stations are monuments to 
famous ship disasters. Of all aids to navigation, light stations were the most expensive to construct 
and maintain. The fact that they were established and continued to function until the 1960s reflects 
the importance with which they were held by commercial interests and the federal government. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


7 



TABLE 1 

Number of Aids to Navigation in Alaska, 1890-1940 



1890 

1895 

1900 

1905 

1910 

Lights 

0 

1 

1 

15 

37 

Fog Signals 

0 

0 

0 

8 

9 

Buoys 

27 

57 

57 

68 

84 

Daymarks 

15 

26 

25 

30 

30 


1915 

1920 

1925 

1930 

1940 

Lights 

112 

196 

260 

350* 

457** 

Fog Signals 

10 

11 

13 

14 

15 

Buoys 

167 

224 

303 

309 

316 

Daymarks 

39 

94 

140 

178. 

181 

Radio Beacons 

0 

0 

0 

3 

9 


*Figure includes 311 minor lights, 13 light stations, and 26 
lighted buoys. 

**Figure includes 387 minor lights, 14 light stations, and 56 
lighted buoys. 


8 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 






Part I 

HISTORICAL 

SUMMARY 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


9 






MmfflsSm n the early years of the United States, aids to navigation were established and main¬ 
tained by colonial and state governments. Responsibility was placed on the national level with the or¬ 
ganization of the Treasury Department in the late 1790s. 

Due to the increasing work, the Fifth Auditor was made Superintendent of the Lighthouse 
Establishment in 1820. Custom officials performed field supervisory duties, such as inspecting 
lighthouse sites, appointing persons to tend lights, etc. 

Another major administrative reorganization was made in 1852 with the creation of the Lighthouse 
Board within the Treasury Department. Twelve Lighthouse Districts were formed, each with a District 
Engineer and District Inspector. 

By decentralizing the administration of the board to the local level, the Act of 1852 essentially 
stimulated the growth of a system of aids to navigation throughout the United States. The board soon 
established a reputation as an effective and aggressive organization. Thus, by the 1850s, numerous aids 
to navigation were located along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington Territory, all of which 
fell under American rule in the late 1840s. 

When, on July 27, 1868, the "customs, com¬ 
merce and navigation" laws of the United States 
were applied to Alaska, the board faced the for¬ 
midable prospect of establishing a system of 
aids to navigation in the new territory with a 
coastline greater in distance than all of the 
contiguous states. Perhaps anticipating the 
task, Alaska was later included in the Thir¬ 
teenth Lighthouse District with Oregon and 
Washington Territory. 

Not long after the purchase of Alaska, in 
January 1869, the Senate determined to review 
the safety of Pacific Northwest coasts, requiring 
the president "to detail an officer to select from 
the public lands such permanent points upon 
the coast of Oregon, Washington Territory, and 
Alaska, as in his judgment may be necessary for 
lighthouse purposes, in view of the future com¬ 
mercial necessity of the Pacific coasts, and to 
reserve the same for exclusive use of the United 
States." (U.S. Senate 1869: 1) 

One month later, President Andrew Johnson 
submitted a report prepared by assistant George 
Davidson, of the Coast Survey. Davidson was in 


Gas can from lighthouse. 


10 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 






A worker services a light in 
Southeast Alaska. 


charge of a Coast Survey expedition to Alaska 
in 1867 when Secretary of State William 
Seward required information about the new 
acquisition for the consideration of Congress. 

The Lighthouse Board had then ap¬ 
proached the Coast Survey to include some¬ 
one in the expedition who would locate pos¬ 
sible lighthouse sites in Alaska. The product 
of this survey was the report that the presi¬ 
dent forwarded to the Senate in February 
1869. 

In his highly readable and detailed re¬ 
port, Davidson recommended that two light¬ 
houses be placed in Sitka Sound, similar to 
those near San Francisco; one at Cape 
Edgecumbe and Biorka Island; one at Long 
Island and Near Island, near Kodiak; and 
two lighthouses near Dutch Harbor, 

Unalaska Island. 

He also noted various locations for buoys 
and unlighted beacons. (U.S. Senate 1869: 

5-12) It is a testament to his observations 
that nearly all were later sites of naviga¬ 
tional aids. However, none was ever a light¬ 
house. 

Despite its interest in Pacific Northwest 
commerce. Congress took no action to reserve lands in Alaska for lighthouse purposes. Perhaps the 
problems of reconstruction distracted Congress from Alaskan affairs, in general. Certainly, congress¬ 
men depreciated the acquisition of Alaska, considering the land more a liability than an asset. Demands 
for lighthouses in other areas of the United States may have held priority. It is more probable that the 
volume of marine commerce in Alaska did not warrant navigational aids. Whatever the reasons, 
Davidson's recommendations for Alaska were shelved. 

Yet, the Lighthouse Board did not ignore Alaska. Noting Davidson's comments on the Russians' 
navigational aids, the board apparently made an expedient decision: use whatever the Russians left 
behind. Red and blue buoys marked a submerged rock near Long Island, called "William's Bank", where 
the Russian-American Company's "Kodiak" sank in April 1860; but these tended to drift away during 
storms and probably were never maintained by Americans. (U.S. Senate 1869: 9) Apparently, the only 
lighted aid in Russian-America was at Sitka. 

Displayed after an exchange of cannon fire between the approaching vessel and the governor's house, 
the light was located 110 feet above water in the cupola of the governor's house or "Baranof s Castle". 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


11 












The "first" lighthouse in Alaska was located in the cupola atop Baranof's Castle. This photo was 
taken in 1889. The building burned in 1894. 


When the light was established is unknown; historians cite 1804 and 1834 as possible years. It was 
a crude affair, consisting of seal or whale oil and wick in four copper cans, placed in front of a large 
reflector in a turret lantern. (USCS 1869: 119-20; U.S. Senate 1869: 6; Adamson 1955:255; Gibbs 1955: 
205). 

When Alaska was purchased by the United States, the Sitka light was probably transferred to the 
jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Board. An agreement, negotiated by the customs official at Sitka, was 
concluded with the Army, whereby the latter maintained the light at the Board's expense. The keeper 
received 40 cents per day for the task. (Gibbs 1955: 205; Gruening 1968: 218) 

When the Army departed Alaska in 1877, so did Acting Ordinance Sergeant George Golkell, the 
appointed keeper since 1867. (Holland 1972: 190; Deane 1938: 20). Nearly 20 years passed before the 
Lighthouse Board maintained another light at Sitka. 

With the rise of gold mining, tourism, and salmon-canning industries in the late 1870s and early 
1880s, marine commerce increased substantially in Southeast Alaska. Of course, so did ship disasters. 

Politicians, chambers of commerce, newspaper editors, steamship companies, fishermen, and 
whalers throughout the Pacific Northwest soon appealed to the Lighthouse Board for aids to navigation. 
(Adamson 1955: 255) So great was the need that Pacific Steamship Company officials offered free 
transport of buoys, supporting their request by listing numerous marine hazards in Tongass Narrows 
and Wrangell Narrows, as well as the recent loss of company steamer Eureka in Peril Strait. (AR 1885: 
10 ) 

In 1884, Alaska obtained a district form of government, and the Lighthouse Board sent 14 iron buoys 
to Southeast Alaska. 


12 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 









Buoys at the lighthouse depot in Ketchikan, December 1,1916. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


13 












A lighthouse service¬ 
man poses near 
Vitskari Rocks 
Beacon, one of the 
first federal aids in 
Alaska, on July 12, 
1918. 



All were placed by the U.S. Navy in the Inside Passage. Also, Naval Commander L.A. Bearslee 
ordered a beacon placed on Vitskari Island, near Sitka, where Davidson had once recommended a cannon 
for a fog-signal in addition to a light. (U.S. Senate 1869:5-6; AR1885:10; Andrews 1953:178; Gibbs 1955: 
205). These were the first unlighted aids located in Alaska by the United States government. 

Concentrating on the needs of Washington and Oregon, the officers of the Lighthouse Board seldom 
found time to place additional aids in Alaska. In fact, it was not until June 1895 that a lighted aid was 
established. No longer able to use the former Russian governor's house at Sitka, it having burned down 
in 1894, the Lighthouse Board placed a simple post light on Castle Hill. William Marrett was the 
appointed tender. (AR 1896:170; AR 1889:170; The Sitka Alaskan June 22,1895:3; Andrews 1953:302) 
While this was the first light established by the federal government in Alaska, it was also the last until 
after the turn of the century. 

With the passing of each year, additional buoys and unlighted beacons (log pyramids and iron 
spindles) were placed in Southeast Alaska. Between 1895 and 1900, however, the number of aids had 
not increased at all. In fact, the number of buoys in 1900 had not risen above the 1895 figure. For 
daymarks, the number had actually decreased by one. 

This apparent inertia can be understood in various ways. In part, it reflects the Board's efforts to 
replace, upgrade, and repair buoys and daymarks, a time-consuming project since the only lighthouse 
tender in the Thirteenth District, the Columbine, operated from Oregon and entered Alaskan waters only 
during summer months. (AR 1889: 170; AR 1905: 178) 

Also, the location of aids was probably reorganized frequently, according to needs, such as fluctuating 
steamer routes, new mining communities and canneries. This view is supported by the fact that the most 


14 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 










northerly buoy in 1898 was on Indian Rock, 20 miles south of Skagway, then booming as a direct result 
of the Klondike Gold Rush. (The Sitka Alaskan July 30, 1898: 2) More important, the board was 
financially ill-equipped to meet Alaska's demands. This is particularly true in regard to lights, which 
required frequent maintenance by a keeper. Since March 1890, for example, the board had annually re¬ 
quested funds to construct a light and fog-signal station on Mary Island, at the entrance to Revillagigedo 
Channel. In 1892, a customs house was established on the island and the board recommended that 
customs officials maintain a minor light at a nominal fee. (The Sitka Alaskan January 30,1892:1; U.S. 
House 1890: 1) However, Congress was not swayed by the entreaty. Not until the Klondike Gold Rush 
of 1897-98 catapulted Alaska into the international news did Congress seriously consider Alaskan needs, 
much less the requests of the Lighthouse Board. 

A windfall in Alaska history, the Klondike Gold Rush stimulated development of Alaska in 
unparalleled ways. All sorts of social, economic and political activities accelerated. Prospectors 
demanded geological surveys, maps, and mining laws; homesteaders demanded land laws and public 

surveys; politicians demanded home rule. And, 
of course, chambers of commerce, steamship 
companies, fishermen, all in some way de¬ 
pendent on safe water traffic, joined in the cry 
for lighthouses in Alaska. 

Gov. John G. Brady of Alaska was espe¬ 
cially vocal, not only in portraying the urgency 
in the situation, but also in grasping the obvi¬ 
ous solutions: "Commerce has grown so rap¬ 
idly and there are now so many millions of 
dollars invested in steamships plying in these 
waters that the time has come to separate 
Alaska into a lighthouse district. There is 
work enough to keep an inspector and tender 
busy. British Columbia is far surpassing us in 
this particular. Soon they will have completed 
four new lights at important points upon the 
inside passage. We should have as many now 
in operation between Tongass and Skagway." 
(AG 1898: 43) 

How the Board responded to the events of 
1897-98 is crucial. One historian suggests that 
the board was then lax in leadership, that a 
"hardening of the arteries had set in this once 
vigorous and aggressive organization." (Hol¬ 
land 1972: 191) Perhaps the judgment needs 
qualification. For years, the board had re¬ 
quested funds for the Mary Island Light Sta- 


The lighthouse tender Fern 
prepares to launch a buoy. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


15 


















Photo courtesy John Scott Douglas 



Repairmen service a light. 

tion and an Alaska lighthouse ten¬ 
der. 

In its annual report of 1899, the 
board noted the numerous requests 
for lights in Alaska and urged that 
Alaska be made into a separate light¬ 
house district. Most important, the 
board requested $300,000 for light 
stations in Alaska, naming eight sites 
in Southeast Alaska and three in 
Western Alaska. (AR 1899: 41; Hol¬ 
land 1971: 191) Such an unprece¬ 
dented request would hardly come 
from a federal agency suffering from 
lax leadership. That light stations 
were, in fact, later established at the 
recomrrtended sites testifies to the 
board's familiarity with Alaska's 
commercial needs and coastal geog¬ 
raphy. 

On June 6, 1900, Congress ap¬ 
propriated $100,000 for light stations 
in Alaska. (The Sitka Alaskan Janu¬ 
ary 19. 1901: 1; AR 1905: 173) With 
this boon, the Lighthouse Board im¬ 
mediately dispatched the Thirteenth 
Lighthouse District inspector and 
engineer to survey the sites in Alaska. 
On their return, they confirmed pre¬ 
vious recommendations and provided five additional sites where light stations should be established. In 
particular, they urged prompt construction of lighthouses in SoutheastAlaska at Five Finger Islands and 
Sentinel Island, both located at strategic points in the Inside Passage. 

The board concurred and ordered the preparation of detailed plans and specifications. With the 
remaining $100,000 appropriated in 1900, construction ofthe two light stations began in July 1901. Both 
stations, the first in Alaska, were lighted on March 1, 1902. (AR 1900: 27-28; AR 1901: 38; U.S. Senate 


1901: 1-3) 


As the effects of the Klondike Gold Rush and other gold rushes reverberated throughout Alaska, 
Congress proved sufficiently amenable to the board's requests, appropriatingmore than $500,000 during 
the years 1901 to 1903 for lighthouse construction. (AR 1902: 241; AR 1905: 173; AR October 15, 1903: 
12) By the end of 1903, when the Lighthouse Board was transferred from the Treasury Department to 
the Department of Commerce and Labor, five light stations were in operation in Alaska. One year later, 


16 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 











Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


the number had more than doubled, although most constructed in 1904 were classified as minor (lens- 
lantern) light stations. All, except for Cape Sarichef and Scotch Cap Light Stations, were located in 
Southeast Alaska. 

This surge in lighthouse construction was made at the expense of other aids. Of the 15 lighted aids 
in 1905,11 were lighthouses. Insignificant increases were recorded for buoys and daymarks during the 
years 1900 to 1905. (AR 1905:12) As much of the steamer routes were beset by fog and winter darkness, 
not to mention the many uncharted reefs and rocks, Alaska's 15 lights could hardly ensure marine safety. 
Aware of the special attention required for Alaska, the board vigorously pressed for a special lighthouse 
district in Alaska as well as for appropriations under "Salaries of light keepers," which would allow the 
board to contract keepers for post lights. Part of Alaska's needs could have been met by a lighthouse 
tender assigned to Alaska. Maintenance of post lights and buoys, delivering mail and supplies to 
lighthouse keepers, etc., required a special tender. 

Such incidents as, in December 1905, when the steamer Portland was wrecked while trying to sight 
the drifting Spire Island buoy, could be avoided. Bills that would provide a separate lighthouse district 
and a tender for Alaska were periodically introduced in Congress, but routinely lost in committees. (U.S. 
Senate 1904: 7-8; Seward Weekly Gateway December 30, 1905: 1) 

In the meantime, the Lighthouse Board was continually barraged by Alaskans for additional lighted 
aids. As before, maritime interests in Southeast Alaska made considerable demands. Yet, by 1903, these 
demands shared importance with those for buoys and daybeacons on dangerous rocks and reefs such as 
Rosa Reef, Key Reef, Hog Rock, Cutter Rock, many which were named after wrecked ships. (U.S. Senate 
1904: 2-4) On the other hand, new demands for navigational aids emerged from other parts of Alaska. 

In Western Alaska, where increasing numbers of steamers were plying the Bering Sea to reach 


A can buoy is hoisted aboard the lighthouse tender Cedar. 





















interior mining operations, steamship companies requested more lighthouses in addition to minor aids. 

While the board agreed that it was necessary to place lights along the Yukon River and its mouth, 
it tended to depreciate the need for lighthouses on the Bering Sea coast, except possibly at Nome and 
Nunivak Island. (U.S. Senate 1904: 6-7) 

In Southcentral Alaska, where railroad construction was proceeding, mariners, railway officials, 
and others requested lighthouses at Resurrection Bay, Cape Spencer, and Cape Decision. The Board 
tentatively concurred with these requests, forecasting that the completed Alaska Central Railway at 
Seward would increase marine traffic westward from Juneau through Cross Sound. (U.S. Senate 1904: 
2, 4; AR 1905: 12, 16) 

Nevertheless, it is clear that the board could not fulfill all of these requests. Congress could or would 
not provide the necessary funds. As a result, the board was accused by Alaskans of providing poor 
services. Alaskans asserted that the board could not match the accomplishments of the Canadian 
service, that it built unnecessarily expensive lighthouses. 

Defending itself, the board conceded that the United States had not matched the Canadian service 
in the past, but pointed to its recent achievements. There was a substantial increase in the number of 
Alaska lighthouses over the six Canadian lighthouses, which, moreover, were not equipped with modern 
fog signals. The difference was even wider in respect to buoys and daymarks. While it was true that 
Alaskan lighthouses cost more than those in Canada, such was to be expected for quality service. All 
Alaska lighthouses, except that at Guard Islands, south of Ketchikan, provided quarters for two or more 



Construction of Cape St. Elias Light Station began in 1915. 


18 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 





















Rugged Island Light at the entrance to Ressurection Bay. An aid is still on the site. 

keepers with families. Canadian lighthouses only provided accommodations for one keeper without 
family. (U.S. Senate 1904: 3) 

Yet, there was truth in the criticism. Lighthouse construction and maintenance was prohibitively 
expensive. In 1905, for example, the board complained that the transportation of fuel for a first-class 
Alaskan light station from where it was purchased to the light station cost more than the fuel itself. (AR 
1905: 9) The board consequently relaxed its efforts for lighthouses in favor of buoys, post lights and 
lanterns. This work was greatly facilitated by the addition of tender Armeria to the Thirteenth District, 
which was annually spared for service in Alaska. The board, did not ignore the need for Alaska 
lighthouses. By 1905, however, Congress was more particular in releasing money for lighthouse 
construction. In 1906, when Congress authorized construction of a lighthouse at Cape Hinchinbrook, 
sufficient funds were not available until 1910. Alaska Central Railway officials, Gov. Brady, and others 
continued to urge for a lighthouse at the entrance to Resurrection Bay. The board agreed and applied 
for funds every year until 1931; but Congress never authorized the project. (Seward Weekly Gateway 
December 16, 1905: 1; Seward Weekly Gateway August 3, 1907: 1; Seward Weekly Gateway May 25, 
1907: 1; AR 1906: 146; AR 1909: 30; AR 1932: 27) 

The Lighthouse Board's concentration on minor aids in Alaska was not without its beneficial effects. 
Improved concrete beacons and buoys with submarine signal bells were increasingly utilized throughout 
Alaska, particularly in the Southeast. Concrete lighted beacons were placed in Prince William Sound 
and Resurrection Bay for the first time in 1910. 

Many of the important points in Western Alaska: Point Romanoff, Canal Point, Cape Stephens, Point 
Spencer, and the most northern, Cape Espenberg, were marked by 1909 with post lanterns. (LL 1909: 
47-48; LL 1909: 44-45; AR 1907: 155) Several important rivers, including Beluga River and the Apoon 
Mouth, were marked for the first time in 1909. (AR 1910: 51) Following a field expedition to the Yukon 
River in 1909, the Lighthouse Bureau annually requested funds for lighting points on the Yukon River 
and its tributaries. (AR 1910: 74-75, Appendix 3) 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 











A building at Scotch Cap Light 
Station is razed in the late 1930s to 
make room for a new lighthouse 



By expanding its field of operations to include all of Alaska, the board was forced to neglect some areas 
where large numbers of aids were needed. A case in point is Prince William Sound, where marine traffic 
was increasing due to a railroad project near Seward and Cordova, gold and copper mining, fishing, and 
oil exploration. Then, experiencing a boom as a result of these activities, residents of Cordova frequently 
accused the Board of negligence, stating that the "Canadian government has been far ahead in protecting 
the safety of shipping." (CDA January 16, 1909: 3) 

When the board announced that it would not place additional post lights in Alaska and elsewhere 
until experiments in the Third Lighthouse District with new lighted buoys were completed, it raised a 
furor among many Alaskans, who, ignoring the fact that lighted buoys were considerably less expensive 
than lights requiring keepers, regarded the announcement as another example of federal reluctance to 
develop Alaska. 

Gov. Walter E. Clark of Alaska went to Washington, D.C., to argue for special consideration of 
Alaska. Shortly thereafter, the board declared that Alaska was to be made an exception. Many Alaskans, 
of course, credited Gov. Clark for the change in policy. (CDA March 4, 1910: 2; CDA March 30, 1910: 1; 
CDA May 7, 1910: 3; CDA May 12, 1910: 1) 

Several factors, however, were involved in the change. No doubt, Clark's visit was important. More 
significantly, the impending abolition of the Lighthouse Board, replaced by a Bureau of Lighthouses 
within the Department of Commerce by Act of Congress on June 17,1900, probably precluded any major 
policy changes in the immediate future. National attention focused on the reorganization, apparently 
in the hope that the new bureau would receive more funds from Congress and initiate new policy 
directives. However, in Alaska's case, the hope was apparently unfounded. Endorsing previous 
recommendations for light stations at Cape Spencer, Cape St. Elias, and Resurrection Bay Entrance, the 
bureau still faced the same reluctance in Congress to appropriate money. 

When Congress provided an insignificant amount for aids to navigation in Alaska, one Washington 
reporter charged, "One of the chief duties of the reorganized lighthouse establishment is to explain to 
inquiring friends that the lighthouse bill passed by the recent congress did not mean anything at all so 
far as money was concerned." (CDA August 13,1910: 6) (CDA August 1,1910:1; CDA September 5,1910: 
1; AR 1910: 75) 

Partly because of such criticism, Clark's visit, and most important, the administrative reorganiza¬ 
tion, the Lighthouse Bureau soon developed its own policy guidelines. After Secretary of Commerce 
Charles Nagel and Attorney General George W. Wickersham made an extensive tour of Alaska in 1910, 
noting the problems and needs voiced by Alaskans, Nagel officially declared that it was the goal of the 
Lighthouse Bureau to obtain "increased aids to navigation, an extension of the lighthouse service, (and) 
the creation of a new lighthouse district for Alaska." 

It was the latter recommendation which received the greater emphasis. "Alaska is too far away from 
Seattle to be dependent upon this district for what she needs in the way of supplies or equipment in this 
(lighthouse) service. There should be a supply station and supply vessel in Alaska waters in order that 
this department may take due requests for immediate needs, such as the marking of the channel of the 
Kuskokwim River that was urged last summer by shipping men in order that vessels might get safely 
into that river with supplies for the Iditarod. I remember that even as this request was made it was 
necessary to send a few buoys from Seattle on the steamship Lindsay, the first big ship to go into the 
Kuskokwim." (CDA September 16, 1910: 1) 


20 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 








Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


21 


_!i_ 












Dewey Rocks Light is 
located at the south¬ 
ern tip of Prince of 
Wales Island at the 
south end of Cordova 
Bay, June 19,1916. 


At its next session, 

CongTess was thus con¬ 
fronted by a whole bat¬ 
tery of requests from the 
Department of Com¬ 
merce relating to navi¬ 
gational aids in Alaska. 

Of course, the demands 
for more light stations 
and other aids, as well 
as an Alaska lighthouse 
district, were not origi¬ 
nal. What was impor¬ 
tant, however, was that 
the demands were made 
by a new governmental 
agency wanting to 
achieve a reputation for 
effectiveness. (CDADe¬ 
cember 8, 1910: 1) 

Closely following 
, Nagel's tour of Alaska, 
and his subsequent ac¬ 
tions in Washington, 
many Alaskans joined 
his campaign to achieve 
special consideration for 
Alaska. Already a po¬ 
litical issue in Southcentral Alaska, demands for navigational aids were fully warranted, considering 
that four large steamers were wrecked within the past year. (CDA January 10, 1911: 1) 

In August 1909, the steamer Ohio struck a reef and sank off Steep Point, near Ketchikan, with 
considerable loss of life. (CDA August 27, 1909: 1; August 28, 1909: 1) 

In 1910, three large ships were wrecked, the steamer Northwestern ran aground on San Juan Island; 
the steamer Portland was wrecked at the mouth of Katalla River; and the steamer Olympia struck an 
uncharted reef off Bligh Island. (CDA December 12, 1910: 1; November 12, 1910: 1; December 2, 1910: 
1) Alaska Gov. Clark was quick to observe that "the recent wrecks of three steamers in the Alaska trade 


22 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


















Photo courtesy Alaska State Library 



The S.S. Princess May grounds near Sentinel Island Light on April 5,1910. There were no reports 
of injuries; the vessel was later refloated. 

points to the necessity of providing further lights in order that human lives and property may be guarded. 

"There is also the important consideration that abundant aids to navigation will have the logical 
result of reducing freight rates and, consequently, the cost of supplies." (CDA December 28, 1910: 1). 
Some Alaskans, however, condemned the federal government of general negligence. One reporter went 
so far as to claim, "With the exception of Siberia, Alaska has been the most neglected country in the world, 
and it is high time that we were doing something for her people. It is time for the government to take 
notice of the fact that Alaska commerce is being hampered by the lack of these navigations which the 
importance of the Alaskan trade requires should be provided. The coast of Alaska is strewn with wrecks 
of American vessels, involving the loss of vast sums of money and many valuable lives." (CDA December 
8, 1910: 1) 

In 1910, when Congress created the Sixteenth Lighthouse District for Alaska, the Act received scant 
attention in newspapers in Southcentral Alaska. The establishment of the new district meant an 
expanded role of the bureau in Alaska. Much to the chagrin of some groups in Seattle, it also meant the 
location of a large supply depot in Ketchikan. (CDA October 7, 1910: 3) The import of the Act, 
however,was apparently not understood by Alaskans, angered as they were by recent shipwrecks and 
Congress' meager appropriation of $60,000 for aids to navigation in Alaska. The Cordova newspaper was 
especially critical. 

"The Lighthouse service expended $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, of which 
$1,339,000 went for the construction of additional aids. Of this latter sum, Alaska received a paltry 
$60,000, less than 5 percent of the total appropriation. This ridiculously small sum was supposed to cover 
the wants of 3,000 miles of coastline, used annually by 1,000 ships, with cargoes valued at $31,000,000 
and transporting 50,000 passengers to and from Alaska. 

"The marine disasters in Alaska are out of all proportion to the volume of shipping employed. In the 
last 10 years there have been 46 total losses. For the calendar year 1910, there were seven total losses, 
valued at $625,000; three accidents in which the ships were valued at a cost of $140,000, besides 
casualties of a minor nature. 

"This neglect would not be tolerated in any private concern and were any employer to subject his em¬ 
ployees to the same relative risks as are entailed by reason or lack of navigational aids in Alaska, he would 
be denounced by the community for criminal negligence." 

That this attitude was not limited to Alaska is apparent in an article appearing in Railway and 
Marine News, a Washington state publication. Demonstratingthat at least 79 vessels were lost in Alaska 
during the years 1878 to 1911, the News claimed that underwriters had paid out $7 million for total 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


23 












Cape St. Elias gas and 
whistling buoy is low¬ 
ered into Orca Inlet from 
the lighthouse tender 
Cedar on July 19, 1918. 


losses, and nearly as much for wrecked and salvaged vessels. 

As most ship disasters and loss of lives were the result of lacking aids to navigation, the News con¬ 
cluded, "Surely, if the Canadian government can afford to supply 105 aids to navigation along a stretch 
of water not more than 600 miles, the U.S. government, with such an empire as Alaska, can afford to be 
as liberal." (CDA October 16, 1911: 3) 

As a federal agency, the Lighthouse Bureau was not immune to public opinion. This factor, in 
addition to the Lighthouse Service's reorganization in 1910, accounts partly for the significant increase 


24 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















(37 to 85) in the number of lighted aids between 1910 and 1912. Also, technological advances offset the 
lack of large Congressional appropriations. Before 1909, lights burned kerosene and required frequent 
maintenance; later, acetylene was employed, which burned continually and without attention for at least 
six months. Moreover, each acetylene light only cost about $1,800 a year to maintain. 

The intensity of these lights ranged from 180 to 520 candlepower, the latter being the same as fourth- 
order lights at many Alaska stations, namely Mary Island, Lincoln Rock, Five Finger Islands, Sentinel 
Island, and Eldred Rock Light Stations. (CDA April 23, 1912: 3) 

Considering the expense involved in building and maintaining lighthouses, no wonder that the 
Lighthouse Bureau favored minor lighted aids and pressed for their establishment in Alaska. Alaska 
Gov. Clark himself, long a critic of federal activities in Alaska, certainly endorsed this policy. 

"If some projects must wait, it would better be large light projects, for great progress has been made 
in the installation of the smaller lights (which are just as good and even better for certain locations) in 
the last two years." (CDA December 29,1911:1). Thus, he urged Congress to appropriate funds only for 
Cape St. Elias Light Station, which one steamship captain compared as being "by all odds the most 
important aid to navigation yet recommended for Alaska," (CD A January 23,1911:3) rather than a carte 
blanche for all recommended light stations. (CDA December 29,1911:1) And, in fact, Congress approved 
construction of Cape St. Elias Lighthouse in 1911, but failed to appropriate the necessary funds until 
1913. (CDT December 30, 1915: 3; CDA September 25, 1912: 4) 

By 1912, many Alaskans realized the tremendous advantages of the new acetylene lights and 
appealed for their establishment in Alaska. On April 3,1912, for example, delegates to a non-partisan 
convention at Cordova resolved, "We demand that additional lights and beacons be installed along the 
coast of Alaska." (CDA April 2, 1912: 1). One editor in Cordova probably summarized the attitudes of 
many Alaskans under the heading "Let There Be Light". 

"We are informed, upon good authority, that the total length of 
coastline in the Alaskan possession, is equal to that of the Atlantic and 
Pacific combined belonging to the United States proper. If this be true, 
what a reflection upon the lawmakers of the country for failing to provide 
proper lighthouses along its rock storm bound coast, when the lawmak¬ 
ers should know passenger steamers and sailing vessels carrying many 
passengers ply its waters. 

"For years, Congress has been neglecting aids to navigation notwith¬ 
standing that the urgent need for them has time and again been called 
to its attention. Gov. Clark has been fightingfor lighthouses for the past 
two winters, and his predecessors were after the same thing, but the 
members of Congress who appear to be purposely remiss in anything 
affecting Alaska, would grant the petitioners an interview, perhaps a 
smile, then dismiss them from their presence, and their wants from their 
minds, in such a manner it is now turning out to be criminal neglect. 

"There is to be a lighthouse installed at Cape St. Elias, but there are 
other points where more light should be sent as beacons across the 
waves, and we trust Congress will not wait until a number of lives have 
been sacrificed, but get busy. We contend that the life of an Alaskan is 
just as valuable to the country as that of a multimillionaire, in fact more 
so, for they develop the country and exploit its resources, although we 
cannot afford to lose either, for a life is a life, and no country can well 
afford to lose a good citizen by untimely deaths." (CDA July 13, 1912:2) 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


25 



n 


North Ledge Beacon in 
Wrangell Narrows 12 miles 
south of Petersburg 
April 27,1918. 

However fervent were demands for 
aids to navigation, particularly lights, 
it must not be forgotten that they largely 
reflected the political situation in 
Alaska. Many demands were made 
upon Washington in the early 1910s, 
and most were considered more impor¬ 
tant than navigational aids. Of course, 
the cry for territorial government was 
probably the most outstanding. When 
President Howard Taft endorsed the 
Second Organic Act on August 24,1912, 
many Alaskans incorrectly assumed 
that a large part of Alaska's problems 
would soon be solved. To some extent, 
the attitude was justified. 

The territorial legislatures enacted 
many laws of benefit. On the other 
hand, federal government agencies had 
a more expanded, diversified role in the 
affairs of Alaska, while other agencies 
were created to administer new respon¬ 
sibilities in Alaska. Such was the case 
with the Alaska Engineering Commission in 1914, when Congress provided for the construction and 
operation of a federally owned railroad in Alaska. 

Once it became clear that Alaska would have a federal railroad, demands for aids to navigation 
increased significantly. The United States Department of Commerce made the loudest cry. On February 
12, 1914, Secretary of Commerce William C. Redfield took the occasion of the Second Annual Meeting 
of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America to announce his approval of the Alaska 
railroad project, but stressed that its value would never be realized until Alaskan waters were as safe 
to shipping as in British Columbia. 

The construction of the railroad, opening of the coal fields, and consequent rise in Alaskan commerce, 
made it imperative that additional aids to navigation be placed on Alaskan coasts. More lighthouses 
should be constructed; a wire-drag survey of the waters should be made; and lighthouse tenders equipped 
with wireless communication systems should be stationed in Alaska. Otherwise, heavy losses in lives 
and ships would continue to hamper the full development of Alaskan commerce. (CDA Feb. 13, 1914:1) 



26 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 











sqqjo ujip Asaunoo ojoijd 



The lighthouse tender Armeria runs aground off Cape Hinchinbrook on May 20,1912. The Arm- 
eria, the first vessel permanently assigned to the new Alaskan District, was engaged in landing 
coal and supplies for the new light station when it struck an uncharted rock and became a total 
loss. The inverted national ensign on the vessel's stern signaled that the vessel was in danger. 

Shortly after his address in Washington, Redfield embarked on a tour of the Pacific Coast states, 
ostensibly to generate public opinion for Congressional attention. Speaking before San Francisco's 
Chamber of Commerce on May 24, 1914, Redfield essentially repeated his February 12 speech, though 
adding that the department had requested four additional vessels to survey the coast of Alaska. (CDA 
March 26, 1914: 1) To the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, he argued, "The department is not 
going to build railroads in Alaska, but before those roads are ready for use we intend to make it safe to 
reach the railroads." (CDA March 26, 1914: 1) While in Seattle, Redfield announced that he expected 
$500,000 from Congress for three new coast survey vessels and the largest lighthouse tender in govern¬ 
ment service, all to be stationed in Alaska. (CDA March 30, 1914: 1) 

No doubt, Redfield sincerely believed that the Alaska railroad, would "mean a great era of prosper¬ 
ity for the territory and the Northwest, "that consequently the responsibilities of the Commerce 
Department in Alaska would grow." (CDA April 10, 1914: 1) However, it is also apparent that Redfield 
was placed in an uncomfortable position because of the Alaska railroad project. The reasons are obvious. 
In 1913, the steamer State of California was totally wrecked on an uncharted reef in Gambier Bay. 
Thirty-one lives were lost and the wreck, itself, cost $225,000. (CDA October 1, 1915: 3) Shortly 
thereafter, the steamer Curacao was wrecked in Warm Chuck Inlet, a disaster costing $235,000. (CDA 
October 1, 1915: 3) The only lighthouse tender in Alaska, Armeria, was itself wrecked in May 1912 on 
an uncharted reef off Cape Hinchinbrook; it was replaced by tender Columbine, which was urgently 
needed in other districts. (CDA May 20, 1912: 1; CDA September 25, 1912: 4) 

Knowledge of these and other marine disasters probably left Redfield little choice but to resort to 
public opinion as a weapon to use against Congress' chariness. True, Redfield's personal interest was 
also at stake. Any ship disaster, which would be expensive in lives or underwriters' costs, and in any way 
connected to the $35 million Alaska railroad project, would cast opprobrium on the Department of 
Commerce. Considering the national attention which the Alaska railroad project received, Congress 
would be forced to seek scapegoats for any reversal sin the project. It is no wonder that Redfield took the 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


27 






7TTT7T 



The lighthouse tender Hemlock. 


initiative by attributing the sinking of the steamer State of California to Congress’ niggardliness. (CDA 
April 10, 1914: 1) 

No wonder that in his "strong appeal to Congress," Redfield declared that it was "mockery to 
undertake the building of a railroad while access to that railroad, even in its preliminary stages, is 
rendered dangerous to life through the lack of proper safeguards which we know exist and which we lack 
the means to go ahead and supply the defects." (CDA April 11, 1914: 1) No wonder that a Washington 
reporter was led to remark, "Never before has a cabinet officer made the necessity of Alaska’s needs in 
this particular a matter of such personal interest as has Secretary Redfield." (CDA April 14, 1914:4) No 
wonder that Commissioner of Lighthouses E.R. Putnam was dispatched on a tour of Alaska waters 
during the summer of 1912, the year that Congress first ordered the president to survey railroad routes 
in Alaska. (CDA September 25,1912:4) For, in real terms, Redfield's personal interests were very much 
at stake. The success of the federal railroad project was contingent upon Congress’ willingness to support 


28 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


















The 200-foot lighthouse tender Cedar in drydock in October 1919. 


Capt. John W. Leadbetter skippered the Cedar 
starting in 1917, when the ship was completed. 


the project and all federal agencies con¬ 
nected to it in any way. 

Considered to be "among the true and 
influential friends of the northland", (CDA 
April 14, 1914: 4), Redfield obtained the 
support of a number of interest groups. The 
Seattle Chamber of Commerce forwarded a 
"strong recommendation" to the Washing¬ 
ton delegation in Congress to endorse 
Redfield's appeals. (CDA April 14, 1914: 4) 
Five leading steamship companies of Puget 
Sound memorialized Congress for resurveys 
ofSouth eastern Alaska.(CDA April 22,1914: 
3) Alaska Gov. John A. Strong also made a 
lucid argument for navigational aids. (AG 
1914: 20-21) And, of course, the Bureau of 
Lighthouses conducted an extensive lobby¬ 
ing campaign in Congress. (CDA June 8, 
1914: 1) 

The campaign was effective, although 
not to the degree that Redfield wished. Funds 
were appropriated for construction of the 
Cape St. Elias Light Station, and for wire¬ 
dragging operations, which began in July 
1914 by tug Chehalis. (CDA June 23, 1914: 
1; July 1, 1914: 1) Continuing the lobbying 
campaign with the aid of Alaska delegate 
James Wickersham, Gov. Strong, President 
Woodrow Wilson and others, Redfield suc¬ 
ceeded in convincing Congress of Alaska's 
urgent need for an effective system of aids to 
navigation. (CDA July 10, 1914: 1; October 
29, 1914: 1; CDT December 31, 1914: 1) 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


29 





















During the years 1915 to 1923, while the Alaska Railroad was constructed, Congress poured funds 
in Alaska as never before, a great deal going to the Bureau of Lighthouses. In 1916, the new lighthouse 
tender Rose, built in Seattle, was stationed in Alaska. It was soon joined by tender Cedar, especially 
designed for Alaska service and the largest (1,970 tons displacement) in government service. (CDT 
August 8, 1916: 1; Deane 1938: 21) (Tender Rose was later replaced by Fern, which was itself replaced 
in 1935 by the larger Hemlock. See AG 1933: 21; AG 1935: 27.) In 1917, gas buoys were first utilized in 
Alaska, thereby warning mariners of former unmarked rocks, reefs, and the like. In July 1918, Congress 
appropriated $90,000 for the construction of a lighthouse depot for Alaska service at district headquar¬ 
ters, Ketchikan. 

The depot project was completed in 1920. (AG 1919: 66; AG 1920: 41) The Yukon River and its 
tributaries were marked by post-lantern lights not long after Congress' authorization of the project in 
June 1920. (AG 1920: 40) Annual recommendations made by the Lighthouse Service and other 
organizations, such as the Alaska Advisory Committee, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, 
eventually led to Congress’ approval of the construction of Cape Spencer Light Station, marking the 
entrance to Cross Sound. In the meantime, the Lighthouse Service was appropriated funds for an 
Alaska-wide project improving many existing light stations with more powerful fog-signals and lights. 
(AG 1920: 103-04; AG 1923: 56) 

By 1923, much of Alaska's coast was dotted with an effective system of navigational aids. In 
comparing the statistics of 1912 with those of 1923, significant progress is evidenced: 



1912 

1923 

Lights 

85 

212 

Fog Signals 

10 

14 

Buoys 

105 

272 (includes 14 gas buoys) 

Daymarks 30 

101 


Total 

230 

634 


30 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 










The achievements of the Lighthouse Service were not lost on Alaskans. Commenting on the fact that 
no shipwrecks were reported in 1916, a newspaper editor wrote, "This is largely due to better aids to 
navigation and in this connection it is a pleasure to warmly congratulate the Alaska workers of the 
United States coast and geodetic survey, who have so consistently carried on the work of wire-dragging 
the waters, while the lighthouse employees have been energetic in paying close attention to existing 
lights and recommending others." (CDT January 23, 1917: 2) Such compliments were probably paid to 
the Lighthouse Bureau frequently in later years. 

Nevertheless, the task of establishing an effective system of aids to navigation was far from 
completed. Again, technological advances came to the aid of the Bureau. During the 1930s, radio beacon 
facilities were installed in many of the light stations and located at points on the Alaska coast, such as 
Soapstone Point and St. Paul Island, ready, at anytime, to notify a mariner of his position. (AG 1931: 



90; AG 1937: 31). 

By 1936, all radio beacons in southeastern Alaska were improved to conform to standard systems 
throughout the United States and Canada by international agreement. Other Alaska light stations were 
subsequently converted to the new system. (AG 1936:29) During the same period, many new automatic 
lights, using dry batteries, which required infrequent maintenance, were placed throughout Alaska. (AG 
1934: 27) Many light stations of frame construction were replaced with modernistic, reinforced concrete 
structures during the 1930s, improved at the same time with the more reliable electric lights. (AG 1928: 
635) In 1932, Cape Decision Light Station was placed in operation, marking the southern entrance to 
Chatham Strait for deep-sea vessels. Because of the increasing work, the 72-foot diesel tender Alder 
joined Cedar and Hemlock in April 1939. (AG 1939: 37) Not long thereafter, on July 1, 1939, the Light¬ 
house Service was amalgamated with the Coast Guard. (AG 1940: 37) The existence of the Bureau of 
Lighthouses came to an end. 

The abolition of the Bureau of Lighthouses 
marked a turning point in the history of aids to 
navigation, not only in Alaska, but throughout 
the nation. It was, in fact, only one aspect of the 
federal government's rush to prepare for a war 
that was almost sure to engage the American 
people. 

When the war did come, tremendous pres¬ 
sures were placed on the Coast Guard to ensure 
the safety of American military transports to 
Alaska. Several light stations, such as those on 
Smith Island and Spruce Cape, were hastily es¬ 
tablished; many minor aids were established; and 
existing facilities were renovated and improved. 

(AG 1941: 43; USCS November 5, 1974: p.c.) 

Without question, the Second World War and 
the ensuing Cold War stimulated the evolution of 


Anchor Point Light, 12 miles south of 
Petersburg, August 2, 1915. There is 
no longer a light on this site. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


31 





















Buoys line the dock at the leased Lighthouse Service depot building in Ketchikan, December 1916. 


Alaska's system of aids to navigation to a point of effectivity unknown anywhere else in the world. 

Yet, much of the work of the Coast Guard in Alaska was already accomplished by the Lighthouse 
Board and Bureau of Lighthouses. True, the board was virtually unrepresented in Alaska from 1867 to 
the early 1900s. However, considering Alaska's insignificant commerce before the 1880s, there was no 
real need for aids to navigation. When the need did arise, shortly after the founding of Juneau and 
Douglas, the board made sincere, but fruitless efforts to establish the aids. Alaska's position in the Thir¬ 
teenth Lighthouse District and weather conditions, combined with Congressional chariness and crude 
technology, were important factors obstructing the development of safe marine traffic. 

Nevertheless, the mere fact that board officials were operating in Alaska during the years 1884 to 
1900, proved to be of inestimable value, simply because they acquired first-hand information about 
Alaska's environment and requirements. 

Thus, in 1900, when Congress finally heeded the call for aids to navigation, the board knew exactly 
where and what kind of aids needed to be established in Alaska. From 1902 to 1906, 12 light stations 
were commissioned in Alaska, 10 of which were located in Southeast Alaska. In a sense, these light 
stations were products of the Klondike Gold Rush; in fact, four were located between Juneau and 
Skagway, then booming as a major supply and departure point to interior gold fields. The most 
significant feature of these light stations was not so much the event which gave rise to them, but the fact 
that all, but two, continued their original function until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Obviously, the 
board was responsible for the framework of Alaska's system of aids to navigation which lasted almost 
to this day. 

If the board defined the outline of the system, the Bureau of Lighthouses refined and expanded the 
system to maximum efficiency. Unlike the board, which tended to concentrate on lighthouse construc¬ 
tion, the bureau stressed the need for minor aids, particularly lights. Its success was the result of many 
factors. Advances in technology produced such devices as acetylene lights and gas buoys; and later, radio 
beacons and electric lights, all of which could be placed and maintained at a nominal cost. 

Wiredragging operations placed formerly unknown submerged rocks and reefs on navigational 
charts. The creation of a separate lighthouse district for Alaska in 1910 greatly facilitated the work of 
the bureau. 

And finally, public opinion and construction of The Alaska Railroad stimulated Congress to 
appropriate the necessary funds for the effective operations of the Lighthouse Service. All of these factors 
combined to produce the highly developed system of aids to navigation which now exists in Alaska. 


32 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 














A 

-A- -^-ids to navigation continued to flourish as a vital asset to the Alaskan mariner. Eventually, 
16 light stations and numerous other aids were established, most of which were in Southeast Alaska. 
On July 1,1939, the Lighthouse Service was transferred to the Coast Guard. Although some Lighthouse 
Service employees were let go, some keepers became Coast Guardsmen, generally chief petty officers or 
first class petty officers. Others were retained as civilian keepers. 

The Coast Guard introduced "Operation LAMP", a program to automate the service’s 150 
lighthouses nationwide, in 1968. As a result, all light stations in Alaska were automated and unmanned. 
The last light to be unmanned was Five Finger Light Station in 1984. 

In 1945, the Coast Guard introduced the loran (long range aids to navigation) system to help guide 
the mariners of Alaska. Loran is an electronic system whereby two stations, synchronize signals. These 
signal pulses are received aboard a ship by a loran receiver, which electronically measures the intervals 
between the times of their receptions in a split second. A ship or aircraft can pinpoint its position by these 
radio signals. There are six loran stations in Alaska: Tok, Kodiak, Port Clarence, Attu, St. Paul and 
Shoal Cove. 

The keepers of Alaska light stations are gone. Th e 12 remaining lighth ouses are maintained by Coast 
Guard civil engineers who survey the buildings every two years to determine the structures'soundness. 
Buoy tenders and the Seventeenth Coast Guard District Aids to Navigation Team maintain the 
appearance and keep the lamps burning brightly. 



Loran Station Attu, located on the last island of the Aleutians, was commissioned in the 1960s. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


33 







Part II 

LIGHT STATIONS of 
ALASKA HISTORY 


34 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 





TABLE 2 


Light Stations in Alaska 


Station., 

Sentinel Island. 

Five Finger Islands 

Scotch Cap. 

Mary Island. 

Lincoln Rock. 

Tree Point.. 

Cape Sarichef. 

Fairway Island. 

Guard Islands. 

Point Retreat. 

Point Sherman. 

Eldred Rock. 

Cape Hinchinbrook 

Cape St. Elias. 

Cape Spencer. 

Cape Decision. 


.Lighted 

.March 1, 1902 

.March 1, 1902 

.June 18, 1903 

.July 15, 1903 

...December 1, 1903 

.April 30, 1904 

.July 1, 1904 

..September 1, 1904 
September 15, 1904 
September 15, 1904 

.October 18, 1904 

.June 1, 1906 

.November 15, 1910 
..September 6, 1916 
..December 11, 1925 
.March 15, 1932 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


35 










































38 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 




















Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


39 



















Sentinel Island Light, 1988. 


Sentinel Island Light Station 

As one of the earliest lighthouses in Alaska, Sentinel Island Light Station marked the northerly end 
of Favorite Channel into Lynn Canal, 23 miles northwest of Juneau. It was constructed by George James 
of Juneau at a cost of $21,267, and was first lighted on March 1,1902. (The Sitka Alaskan July 27,1901: 
1; AR 1900: 38; AR 1901: 210; AR 1903: 241) 

The light station originally consisted of a keeper's dwelling, fog-signal house, oil house, wharf, 
derrick, carpenter shop, and a tramway linking the wharf and oil house. Most of the minor structures 
were built in 1903-04. The fourth-order, fixed-white light, 82 feet above mean high water, or about 42 
feet above land, was displayed from a square tower attached to the center of the westerly front of the 
keepers dwelling, which was a square, double, two-story building with hipped cross gables. The fog- 
signal house, equipped with a third-class Daboll trumpet, was 60 feet westerly of the oil house. All 
structures were wooden, painted white with brown roofs. (LL 1908: 108; LL 1909: 46-47; AR 1904: 173; 
AR 1905: 173) 

Through the years, the station was periodically improved. In 1926, a new illuminating apparatus 
was installed, increasing the candlepower from 600 to 1,600. (AG 1926: 70) The intensity of the light was 
again increased in 1929, when the illuminant was changed from acetylene to electricity. A second-class, 
short-range radio beacon was placed in operation in December 1928. (AG 1929:65; AG 1931:90; AR 1928: 
31; AG 1929: 3) Finally, during the years 1933 to 1935, a light and fog-signal building was constructed 
with reinforced concrete at a cost of $35,310. A square tower (11' x 11' x 25') projected above the roof of 
a two-story fog-signal building (28' X 34’). (ARSC 1933: 115; AG 1934: 27; ARSC 1935: 126; USCG 
January 15, 1974: p.c.; Snow 1935: 276) 

Due to inflation and technological advances, the light station was unmanned and automated in 1966. 
The two-story keepers' dwelling was retained until 1971, when burned by the U. S. Coast Guard. Only 
the tower and foundations of the keepers' dwelling and original fog-signal house remain on 6.55 acres 
of the lighthouse reservation. In June 1987, the crew of the buoy tender Woodrush installed 15 solar 
panels at the light to replace the use of electricity. (USCG January 15,1974: p.c.; Thrasher 1974:12-13) 


40 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 









Left: Sentinel Island’s wharf and boat¬ 
house, June 21,1915. Below: The light¬ 
house is modernized with the installation 
of solar panels to reduce the need for 
generators, and to cut maintenance 
costs. 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


41 




















Five Finger Islands Light Station 


Five Finger Light Station is located 37 miles northwest of Petersburg, in the northerly part of 
Frederick Sound. Contracted for $22,500 on July 6, 1901, the station was completed during the latter 
part of January 1902. The light was displayed for the first time on March 1, 1902. Because all of the 
light station's structures were complete before Sentinel Island Light, some consider Five Finger Light 
the first manned light station in Alaska. 

Rising from the southerly end of the roof of a two-story dwelling, which also housed the fog-signal 
apparatus (a Daboll trumpet), the 49-foot square tower displayed a fourth-order (420 c.p.), fixed-white 
light, 68 feet above mean high water. Northward of the light and fog-signal building was an oil house 
on a concrete pier. Other structures included a landing platform, which was raised four feet, 
strengthened and enlarged in 1903-04, a workshop (12' x 20'), and an engine house. The hoisting engine 
and boiler were near the landing platform. All structures were wooden, painted white with brown roofs. 
(AR 1904: 171; AR 1905: 176-77; LL 1908: 107; LL 1909: 46-47) 

In late 1931, the station was improved with a third-class radio beacon, making it the sixth in Alaska 
with such facilities. (AG 1931: 90) The light and fog-signal building was destroyed by fire on December 
8, 1933. The crew of lighthouse tender Cedar was landing supplies at the time and helped save the 
boathouse and carpenter shop. By December 1935, at a cost of $92,267, a new light station was 
commissioned on a nearby island. (57. 16' 00" N / 133. 37' 12" W). (ARSC 1934: 107; ARSC 1936: 123) 
Located on a concrete pier, the one-story, reinforced concrete building (40' X 40') with a square tower 
(13' X 13' X 68') rising from its center, housed all equipment and three keepers. The fourth-order (7,100 
c.p.) electric light was shown 81 feet above water. The floor of the structure included a combination living 



The original Five Finger Light Station, completed in March 1902, was destroyed by fire in 1933. 


42 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















Above: Five Finger Light 
in the 1960s. Left: Con¬ 
struction of the second 
Five Finger Light in 1935. 


room and kitchen, four bedrooms, 
bath, boiler room, radio room, 
engine room, battery room, and 
storage space. The three-quarter 
basement was full of machinery, 
all in duplicate. A new radio 
beacon was synchronized with the 
compressed air diaphone fog-sig¬ 
nal. Two one-story, rectangular 
buildings, a hoisting boom, and 
numerous cisterns were located 
near the lighthouse. (Mestrezat 
1939: 13; AG 1935: 27; AG 1936: 
29; ARSC 1936:123: USCP 1969: 
140; USCG January 15,1974: p.c.) 

Five Finger Light Station 
became the last lighthouse in 
Alaska to be automated. On 
August 14, 1984, the last four 
Coast Guardsmen left the station. 
Five Finger Light Station also 
serves as a national weather for- 
casting center. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


43 
































44 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 












Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


45 
























Scotch Cap Light Station 

Scotch Cap Light Station, located on Unimak Island, was the first light erected on the outside coast 
of Alaska. Marking the inside entrance to Unimak Pass, 70 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, Scotch Cap 
Light was the most southerly in Alaska. It was one of the most isolated light stations, particularly during 
the winter when travel to the station by boat was often hampered by adverse weather conditions. Scotch 
Cap’s nearest neighbor was Cape Sarichef Light Station, 22 miles to the southeast. 

Stories abound recounting the hardships of the Scotch Cap keepers. One keeper, for example, 
reportedly froze both of his hands while trying to go from the lighthouse tower to his home during a 
blizzard; his life was saved by a dog that led him to safety. (CD A May 9,1911:3) Because of the hazardous 
duty at Scotch Cap, each of the three keepers received one year's vacation every four years. No families 
were allowed to remain at the station. (USCG 1957: 3) 

Marking the southerly entrance of a natural route through the Aleutian Islands, the station is a 
monument to many ship disasters, before and after its establishment. In 1909, the cannery supply ship 
Columbia was wrecked near Unimak Island. It took two weeks before a ship could relieve the lighthouse 
keepers of the vessel's 194 crewmembers. (CDAMay28,1909:4) The Japanese freighter KoshunMaru, 
lost in a snowstorm, ran up the beach near the light station in 1930, as one author put it, "with the Scotch 
Cap siren blowing in her ear." (Willoughby 1946: 182-83) In 1942, the Russian freighter Turksib was 
wrecked near the station, with the loss of the captain and one sailor. The 60 survivors were cared for by 
the lighthouse keepers for several weeks, no rescue ship being able to reach the station due to rough seas. 
(Snow 1955: 279) 

Bids to construct Scotch Cap Lighthouse were opened on March 22, 1902. All were subsequently 
rejected as too expensive. The Lighthouse Board then hired laborers and purchased most of the 
construction materials. On June 23,1902, the steamer Homer left Seattle for Scotch Cap with 30 workers 
and a doctor. (AR 1902: 241; AR 1905: 178; Deane 1938: 21) Although the fog-signal was placed in 
operation on July 15,1903, the station was not lighted until July 18. The project was completed at a total 
cost of $76,571. (AR October 15, 1903: 88; Deane 1938: 21) 


46 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 











Opposite page: The original Scotch Cap Light 
Station, 1903. Below: The second lighthouse 
shortly after it was erected in 1940. The origi¬ 
nal lighthouse is visible behind and to the right 
of the newer structure. 



Equipped with a third-order, fixed-white light (2,300 c.p.) and a 10-inch air whistle, fog-signal, the 
station was located on a low bluff near the beach. The light and fog-signal building was a one-story, 
wooden, octagonal structure with a pyramidal roof, from which rose an octagon tower surmounted by a 
black cylindrical lantern. The height of the structure was at least 35 feet, leaving the light 90 feet above 
mean high water. Two oil houses, three dwellings, a barn, and a boathouse were located south westward 
of the lighthouse. (LL 1908: 115; LL 1909: 46-47; LL 1916: 144-45; AR 1905: 176-7) Later, in 1904-05, 
a windbreak was erected behind the fog-signal building, a telephone and call-bell system installed, and 
a handrail was placed along the roadway from the dwellings to the fog-signal building. (AR 1905: 173) 

During the 1920s and 1930s, both light stations on Unimak Island underwent improvements, 
alterations, and finally, reconstruction. In 1922-23, the U.S. Navy installed radio-telephones at the 
stations. (AR 1923: 13) 

Five years later, new fog-signal engines and compressors were placed in operation. (AR 1928:4) First- 
class radio beacons were installed in 1930-31. (AG 1930: 77; AG 1931: 90) Finally, in 1940, at a cost of 
about $150,000, a new concrete reinforced lighthouse and fog-signal building was erected only a few 
yards from the original lighthouse site. A concrete sea wall was also placed near the station. (AG 1939: 
37; AG 1940: 38; AG 1941: 43; ARSC 1939: 128) 

On April 1, 1946, at 2:18 a.m., disaster struck Scotch Cap. "Terrific roaring from ocean heard, 
followed immediately by terrific sea, top of which rose above cliff and struck station, causing considerable 
damages," wrote the watchstander at the Radio Direction Finding Unit, located on the cliff overlooking 
the light station. The D/F Unit watchstander immediately tried to reach the light station by radio, but 
received no reply. The watch noted in the log that Scotch Cap's "light extinguished and horn silent". The 
officer in charge of the D/F station ordered his men to higher grounds. The tsunami, believed to be 100 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


47 












48 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 

















feet high, destroyed the entire station, killing all 
five Coast Guardsmen. The bodies of Chief Boat¬ 
swain's Mate Anthony Lawrence Pettit, Fireman 
1st Class Jack Colvin, Seaman 1st Class Dewey 
Dykstra, Motor Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Le¬ 
onard Pickering, and Seaman 1st Class Paul 
James Ness washed up on the beach a few days 
later, identified only by their bridgework and jew¬ 
elry. The foundations of the former light and fog- 
signal building were still visible in 1967. (Snow 
1955: 279-80; USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 

Shortly after the disaster, a temporary un¬ 
watched electric light and a radio beacon, dis¬ 
played from a small white house, were estab¬ 
lished at Scotch Cap. By early 1950, a new light 
and fog-signal station was commissioned, this 
time located on the cliff safely above the sea. (54, 
23' 48” N / 164" 44' 36" W). (USCG 1957: 3; Gibbs 
1955: 219-21; Snow 1955: 280) 

From a square tower (15'X15') rising from the 
end of a flat-roofed, rectangular (20' x 34'), one- 
story concrete structure, an electric white light 
(240,000 c.p.) is displayed 116 feet above water. 
Behind the lighthouse is a flat-roofed, oblong, 
concrete structure, presumably the keepers' quar¬ 
ters and loran facilities, and a white quonset hut. 
At some distance northward of the lighthouse is 
an unidentified two-story, rectangular structure 
with two one-story buildings attached. (USCP 
1954: 349; Snow 1955: 280; USCG 1957: 3; USCG 
January 15, 1974: p.c.) 

The lighthouse reservation includes 8,852 
acres of land. In 1971, the station was automated 
and unmanned. (USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 



Above: Debris of Scotch Cap Light Station is 
strewn along the beach after a tsunumi struck 
the station on April Fools' Day 1946. 

Below: Today, Scotch Cap Light is located atop 
a cliff above the original lighthouse site. Oppo¬ 
site page: Keepers Oscar Lindberg (left) and 
"Uncle” Barney Lokken pose with a Christmas 
tree delivered by a passing steamer. No trees 
grow on Unimak Island. 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


49 
















The original lighthouse structure at Mary Island. 


Mary Island Light Station 

The second lighthouse encountered by seafarers entering the Inside Passage from the south was 
Mary Island Light Station, one of the first in Alaska recommended by the Board of Lighthouses. As early 
as 1890, the Board requested $80,000 for the station. When, in 1892 a customs house was established 
on Mary Island, 10 miles south of Ketchikan, the board proposed to place a "small, inexpensive light" on 
the island, reasoning that the light could be maintained by customs employees at an annual cost of $800. 
However, Congress failed to act on the recommendation. (AR 1890: 35; AR 1892: 201; AR 1893:176-77) 

Shortly after the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-98, Congress authorized a light station on Mary Island 
and appropriated the necessary funds. The Board of Lighthouses granted a building contract on April 
11, 1902. Landing at the site in late May 1902, the contractors completed the project on July 31, 1903. 
The station was lighted for the first time on July 15, 1903. (AR 1902: 241; AR October 15, 1903: 88; AR 
1904: 170) 

The main structure at the light station was an octagonal, one-story, wooden fog-signal building with 
a pyramidal roof, surmounted by an octagonal tower with a black cylindrical lantern. A fourth-order light 
was displayed 45.5 feet above land or 
67.5 feet above water. The third class 
fog-signal, a Daboll trumpet, projected 
easterly from the structure. About 40 
feet behind the lighthouse were two, 
one-story, galvanized-iron oilhouses. 

Two one-and-one-half-story frame dwell¬ 
ings were about 100 feet behind the 
light and fog-signal building. A boat¬ 
house, carhouse, and derrick, each a 
one-story frame structure, were located 


The surf boat at Mary Island. 



50 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















Mary Island's living 
quarters 


west of the lighthouse. 
(LL 1908: 100; LL 1909: 
44-45; LL 1916: 118-19; 
AR 1905: 176-77) 

While the Bureau of 
Lighthouses improved 
the station in 1926, when 
a new illuminating appa¬ 
ratus was installed, 
thereby increasing the 
intensity of the light from 
600 to 6,000 candlepower; 
and again, in 1931, when 

a third class radio beacon was placed in operation, the U. S. Coast Guard determined in the late 1930s 
that the lighthouse required reconstruction. (AG 1926: 70; AG 1930: 77) During the years 1936 to 1938, 
a new lighthouse of reinforced concrete was constructed on Mary Island at an expense of $54,792. (AG 
1937: 31; AG 1938: 23; ARSC 1938: 136) 

Attached to the center of a low, one-story building, a white, square tower displayed a light 76 feet 
above water or 61 feet above land. The first floor of the building contained engines, air compressors, 
electric generators for radio beacon transmitters, etc. The basement housed the heating plant, fuel, and 
supplies. Apparently the original, a frame, one-and-one-half dwelling with swept dormers was near the 

light andfog-signal building; the other 
dwelling was probably destroyed. 
Other structures included a boat¬ 
house, tramway, cisterns, and at least 
three smaller buildings; all were 
linked with concrete walks. (ARSC 
1938: 136; Jefferey 1955:133; Deane 
1938: 23; USCG October 7,1974: p.c.) 

The light station is located on 
198 acres of lighthouse reservation; it 
was unmanned and reduced to a mi¬ 
nor light in April 1969. At that time, 
the radio beacon was discontinued. 
(Thrasher 1974: 12-13). 


The newer structure at Mary Island 
in 1965. 




Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


51 




















Lincoln Rock Light Station 

Located at the westerly end of Clarence Strait, 54 miles northwest of Ketchikan, Lincoln Rock Light 
Station proved to be one of the more difficult to build in Alaska. The construction project was awarded 
to the only bidder in March 1902. Despite losing his lumber, a small steamer and barge while en route 
to the site, the contractor finally landed on Lincoln Rock in May 1902. By August, however, construction 
was stopped due to storms. 

Then, in June 1903, the contract was annulled when it was discovered that the contractor persisted 
in using substandard materials. Abandoning the contract method, the Lighthouse Board hired its own 
laborers. The project was finally completed in late 1903. On December 1, 1903, the station was lighted 
for the first time. (AR 1902: 241; AR October 15, 1903: 88; AR 1904: 171) 

From the southerly end of a square, two-story wooden dwelling built on a concrete pier, a square 
tower displayed a fourth-order, fixed white light, 57.75 feet above water or about 41 feet above land. The 
fog signal, a Daboll trumpet, was located on the northerly end of the westerly side of the main structure. 
Northerly of the lighthouse was an oilhouse and derrick. As the rock was submerged at high water, a 
cutwater was placed on the south side of the pier to split sea waves and thus prevent their breaking 
against the lighthouse. (AR 1904: 171; AR 1905: 176-77; LL 1908: 103; LL 1909: 44-45) 


52 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















Opposite page: The original Lincoln 
Rock Lighthouse, circa: 1905. Left: A 
fixed light was reconstructed at the 
original site, circa: 1944. 


The cutwater never proved effective. Shortly 
after the station was commissioned, part of the 
landing platform was carried away by high seas. 
(AR1905:173) On November 28, 1909, and again, 
on April 14, 1910, the lighthouse itself was se¬ 
verely damaged by storms. 

After establishing a temporary light, the light¬ 
house keepers evacuated Lincoln Rock on the 
Army Steamer Peterson. (CDA December 1,1909: 
AR 1910: 50; Thrasher 1974: 12-13) 

In March 1911, Congress authorized the recon¬ 
struction of Lincoln Rock Light Station at a cost not to exceed $25,000. The Light House Board chose to 
establish a fog signal station on a small islet (56° 03' 24" N /132° 41' 48") about 440 yards from the former 
lighthouse site, which was marked by an acetylene light. Completed at an expense of $24,774, the newly 
manned station was commissioned on October 10,1911.CAR 1910:50; AR 1911:60; AR 1915:54; LL 1916: 
120-21; Holland 1972: 191) 

Lincoln Rock Light Station was permanently unmanned and disestablished in March 1968. 



New site of Lincoln Rock Lighthouse's fog signal station in 1947. 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


53 

















Tree Point Light Station 

1004 . 10 .^ k 



54 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


! pj 4 4 iii 










Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


55 











Tree Point Light Station 


Marking the entrance to Revillagigedo Channel, Tree Point Light Station was approved for 
construction by the Board of Lighthouses on April 24, 1903. The project was undertaken by hired labor 
and completed on April 30, 1904, when the light was first displayed. 

Two weeks later, however, a "slight fire" damaged the station. Within a short time, repairs were 
made and the station was again placed in operation. (AR 1904: 170; AR October 15, 1903: 88) 

Tree Point Light Station, 40 miles south of Ketchikan, was equipped with a third-order, fixed-white 
light with a red sector covering the Lord Rocks and a first-class, oilburning, fog-signal air siren. Rising 
from the center of the fog-signal and keepers' building was a one-story, wooden, octagonal structure with 
a pyramidal roof. The octagonal tower displayed a light 86.5 feet above sea level or about 56.5 feet above 
land. 



The new Tree Point Light Station nears completion in 1935. 


56 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 





















Below: The station's small boat is lowered to the 
water. Bottom: Tree Point Light In the 1950s. 


Two oilhouses were situated 50 and 100 feet, re¬ 
spectively, easterly of the light and fog-signal build¬ 
ing. All structures were white with brown roofs. 
The cylindrical lantern was gray with a black roof. 
(LL 1908: 100; LL 1909: 44-45; LL 1916: 118; AR 
1905: 176=77) 

In the early 1930s, the Bureau of Lighthouses 
authorized reconstruction of the station with rein¬ 
forced concrete. (AG 1934: 27) Work began in 1933 
and was completed in 1935. The entire project cost 
$84,648. The light and fog-signal building itself 
cost $47,481. (AR 1934: 115; Short and Stanley- 
Brown : 647) 

Attached to the one-story, fog-signal building, a 
square tower (13’ X 13') displayed a light 58 feet 
above land. The basement (18' X 36') of the struc¬ 
ture contained a 5,000 gallon fuel-oil tank, a coal 
storage bin, air receivers, and a water heating 
boiler. The first floor housed machinery and a 
small office room. The first floor of the tower was 
used for battery storage; the second and fourth 
stories, for storage. The third floor housed the 
diaphone operatingroom. (ARSC 1935:129;USCG 
October 7, 1974: p.c.) 

In 1969, the station was disestablished and 
reduced to a minor light. (Thrasher 1974:13) It is 
located on 1,207 acres of a lighthouse reservation. 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


57 




















Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 















'I 

* 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


59 


























In 1950, Cape Sarichef Light 
Station was placed on the bluff 
above the original lighthouse site. 


« Afh-uii«ii i'll TitiliMHI 


Cape Sarichef Light Station 

The most westerly lighthouse in North America, Cape Sarichef Light Station is located on the 
northwestern coast of Unimak Island, 78 miles north of Dutch Harbor, marking the northern entrance 
to Unimak Pass. Like Scotch Cap, Cape Sarichef Lighthouse was once noted the most isolated in 
America, especially from December 1 to March 1, when the light was shut down because the Bering Sea 
was frozen. (Willoughby 1946:174; USCG 1957: 1) Isolation was tough on some; others, such as Keeper 
Ted Pedersen, (1929-1935) longed for the solitude, "it was peaceful. You were part of the elements and 
lived from day to day. I was a free human being," he said. 

Often during the winter months, when the seas were too rough to land a boat on the Bering Sea side 
of Unimak Island, the mail was diverted to Scotch Cap Light Station on the opposite side of the island. 
According to Pedersen, once the mail didn't arrive for five months. 

Bids for construction of Cape Sarichef lighthouse were called on March 22, 1902. All were rejected 
as too excessive. (AR 1902: 241) In early 1903, hired labor began construction and completed the project 
on October 1,1903. Because the lantern had not arrived in time, construction workers returned to Cape 
Sarichef in May 1904 and installed the light. Completed at a cost of $80,000, the station was first lighted 
on July 1, 1904. (AR October 15, 1903: 88; AR 1904: 171; Gibbs 1955: 218; Holland 1972: 192) 

Facilities at Cape Sarichef included a third-order, fixed white light (2,300 c.p.) and a first-class, 
automatic fog-signal siren, operated by compressed air. The cylindrical lantern, 35 feet above land, was 
placed on an octagonal tower, rising from the apex of the pyramidal roof of a one-story, octagonal fog- 
signal building; the light was shown 126.5 feet above sea level. Two oilhouses, three dwellings, and a 
barn were located southeasterly of the lighthouse. During the 1930s, the barn was used for the station 
surfboat. 


60 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 











Keeper Ed Moore gives assistant 
keeper Ted Pedersen a haircut after 
Ted returned from a year's leave 
with pay in 1930. When 63-year-old 
Moore retired after 20 years of 
service in 1933, Pedersen took over 
as keeper. 


Two of the dwellings were re¬ 
portedly never occupied, by order of 
the Lighthouse Inspector, who, upon 
visiting the station, believed it too 
isolated for keepers' families. How¬ 
ever, there are reports of keepers peri¬ 
odically having their families stay at 
the light station for short periods of 
times during the summer months. 

A boathouse, engine house, and 
derrick were located on a reef south¬ 
westerly of the lighthouse. All were 
damaged by storms in 1904 and subse¬ 
quently replaced. Most structures at 
Cape Sarichef were wooden and 
painted white with brown roofs. (LL 
1908:115; LL 1909:46-47; Willoughby 
1946: 175; AR 1905: 173, 176-77) 

In September 1934, the keeper 
was hunting, he found two men wan¬ 
dering on the island; their schooner, the Gladiator, had grounded the night before, 18 miles from Cape 
Sarichef Light. When a lifeboat from the Coast Guard Cutter Chelan attempted to reach the grounded 
ship to pick up the vessel's skipper, the lifeboat capsized. The Coast Guardsmen and three men from the 
Gladiator spent nine days at the light station until the weather subsided enough for the Chelan to get 
close enough to pick up the stranded men. 

Following the Scotch Cap Light Station disaster of 1946, the U.S. Coast Guard completed plans to 
construct a new lighthouse of reinforced concrete at Cape Sarichef. Relighted in 1950, the new station 
was located on the edge of a bluff (54. 36' 00" N / 164, 55’ 42' W). The tower, on a one-story structure, 
displayed a flashing electric white light (9,000 c.p.). 177 feet above water. Station facilities also included 
a radio beacon and fog-signal siren. Directly behind the lighthouse was a large, one-story, oblong 
structure with a flat roof. A two-story building was attached. A Quonset hut, cisterns, and several other 
buildings were located nearby. Concrete walks linked the various structures. (Snow 1955: 277; USGS 
1957: 1; Holland 1972: 192; USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) Only the foundations of the original keepers' 
dwellings remained visible in 1966. 

On June 15, 1979, the "new" light station was unmanned and discontinued. It was replaced by New 
Cape Sarichef Light, erected on a skeleton steel tower adjacent to the old lighthouse. During the same 
year, the property was turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Located on 1,845 acres of a lighthouse reservation, the Cape Sarichef Light Station presently serves 
as a National Weather Service forecasting center. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


61 
















Fairway Island Light Station, 1944. 


Fairway Island Light Station 


Recommended by the Thirteenth Lighthouse District inspector and engineer in 1900 as the site for 
a lighthouse, Fairway Island is just inside the easterly entrance to Peril Strait, 28 miles northeast of 
Sitka. The station was constructed during the summer of 1904 and lighted on September 1. The minor 
light station marked a turning point in Peril Strait. 

In 1904, Fairway Island Light Station was one of four minor lighthouses established in Alaska. 
Forty-one feet above mean high water, the fixed white light was displayed from a black, hexagonal, lens- 
lantern on a six-foot, white, wooden, hexagonal tower. A one-and-one-half story wooden dwelling was 
located 40 feet southerly of the light tower. Eighty feet westerly of the tower was a rectangular, wooden 
boathouse. Both buildings were painted 
white with brown roofs. (LL 1908: 113; LL 
1909: 46-47) 

Unlike most in Alaska, the light station 
was apparently disestablished sometime 
between the years 1917 and 1925, during 
which time an effective system of unmanned 
stake lights was established in Peril Strait. 

The station itself was later replaced by a 
minor light. The former station was located 
on 298 acres of a lighthouse reservation, 
withdrawn in 1901 by order of President 
Theodore Roosevelt. (USCP 1917: 208; 

USCP 1925: 305) 


The dwelling at Fairway 
Island Light Station, 1915. 



62 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 









Point Sherman Light Station 


The third lighthouse encountered by seafarers traveling from Juneau to Skagway, Point Sher¬ 
man Light Station, located 38 miles north of Juneau, was the last minor station established in 
Alaska. It was constructed during the summer of 1904 and was first lighted on October 18, 1904. 
(AR 1904: 171; AR 1905: 173) 

Similar to that on Fairway Island, the Point Sherman fixed-white light (230 c.p.) was displayed 
42 feet above water from a black hexagonal lantern on a white, hexagonal, wooden tower, six feet in 
height. Eastward of the light tower was a one-and-one-half story frame building and a boathouse, 
both structures were painted white with brown roofs. A fence, about 600 feet in length, surrounded 
the dwelling. (LL 1908: 108; LL 1909: 46-47) 

Disestablished and reduced to a minor light before 1917, the lighthouse was not destroyed. 
Apparently the light itself was abandoned by 1932. The only structure remaining at the site was an 
"unused lighthouse." (USCP 1917: 152; 1925: 246; 1932: 318; 1943: 311; 1952: 352) The roof of the 
keeper’s dwelling is reportedly caved in. 



Point Sherman Light Station, June 1929. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


63 













Guard Islands Light Station 



64 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 









Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


65 








Guard Islands Light Station, (date unknown) 


Guard Islands Light Station 


Located on the largest of two islands nine miles north of Ketchikan, Guard Islands Light Station 
marked the easterly entrance to Tongass Narrows. Hired labor began constructing the station in the 
summer of 1903. Before winter halted further construction in January 1904, the clearing, grading and 
excavating of the lighthouse site was completed. Resuming work in June 1904, the laborers soon 
completed the project, lighting the station on September 15,1904, nearly two weeks before expectations. 
(AR October 15, 1903: 88; AR 1904: 170; AR 1905: 173) 

Unlike most in Alaska, the early Guard Islands Light Station was classified minor. A fixed-white, 
lens lantern light was displayed from a white, square, wooden tower; it was shown 34 feet above land and 
79 feet above water. The 
only keeper's house, a 
one-and-one-half story 
frame building, was 
located 100 feet north¬ 
easterly of the tower. An 
oilhouse was erected 50 
feet easterly of the 
tower; and a boathouse, 

100 feet northerly. (LL 
1908:102; LL 1909: 44- 
45) 

An unusual feature 
of the early light sta¬ 
tion was the fog-signal 
apparatus. It was sim¬ 
ply a bell suspended 

Guard Islands Light¬ 
house in 1988. 



66 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 




























The surf boat at Guard Islands Lighthouse. 


from the northerly face of the light tower, struck by machinery every 20 seconds. (LL1908:102) Congress 
authorized lighthouse improvements in March 1922, with a reinforced concrete fog-signal building (20* 
X 35') thereby replacing the old clock mechanism with an air diaphone fog signal, which was first oper¬ 
ated on February 25, 1924. At the same time, the original light tower was replaced by a square tower 
(10' x 10') projecting 30 feet above the roof of the fog-signal building. Another dwelling was also 
constructed, thereby providing for two keepers with families at the station. The project was completed 
at an expense of $46,586. (AG 1923: 56; AR 1923: 46; AG 1924: 29-30; AR 1924: 31; USCG January 15, 
1974: p.c.) 

In 1938-39, the station was again improved by the installation of radio telephones and a radio beacon 
monitoring system. (AG 1939: 37). The radio beacon system was modified in 1956 for both marine and 
aircraft navigation. (AG 1956:17) In 1969, due to the rising costs of maintenance and new technological 
advances, the light station was automated. Nothing remains on the 10.5 acres lighthouse reservation, 
except the actual lighthouse and old fog signal building. 


Guard Islands 
Keeper George West 
(left) and wife, Alma, 
(right) and assistant 
keeper Mr. Walten- 
berg, and his wife in 
the dining room at 
Guard Islands Light¬ 
house. 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


67 





















Point Retreat Light Station 

Point Retreat Light Station was one of four minor light stations constructed in Alaska in 1904. It’s 
located on the northerly point of Mansfield Peninsula, Admiralty Island, 17 miles northwest of Juneau. 
Construction began in early 1904; it ended on September 15, when the station was first lighted. (AR1904: 
171; AR 1905: 173) 

Of the lens-lantern order, the fixed-white light was displayed at least 19 feet above mean high water, 
from a black hexagonal lantern, set upon a six-foot, wooden, hexagonal tower. About 50 feet southerly 
of the tower was a white, one-and-one-half story, frame dwelling with a brown roof. Apparently there 
were two dwellings, but one burned shortly after construction. Eastward of the keepers' dwelling was 
a rectangular, wooden boathouse. The station did not have a fog-signal. (LL 1908: 107; LL 1909: 46-47; 
Deane 1938: 23) 

The lighthouse was unmanned and reduced to a minor light before 1917, but it was reestablished and 
upgraded in 1923-24, with the construction of a light and fog-signal building (34' X 20') of reinforced 
concrete. A square tower, rising 25 feet from the center of the roof of the fog-signal building, displayed 
a light 63 feet above water. 

Other facilities included: two one-and-one-half story, wooden dwellings for two resident keepers with 
families; a landing wharf with derrick and hoist; cisterns in solid rock; a boathouse, etc. The new station 
was established at a cost of $58,242. (USCP 1917: 160; AR 1923: 46; AR 1924: 31; AG 1924: 29; USCG 
January 15,1974: p.c.) In 1966, one of the keeper's quarters was razed to make room for a helicopter pad. 

Later improved with a radio beacon, Point Retreat Light Station functioned continuously until 1973, 
when it was again unmanned and downgraded to a minor light. A foghorn is powered by a set of batteries 
requiring only periodical service. (USCP 1952: 350; Thrasher 1974: 13) The station is located on 1,505 
acres of a lighthouse reservation. 


68 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 
















Opposite page: Workers nearly 
complete construction of Point Re¬ 
treat Light Station in 1904. Left: 
Keeper Charles E. McLeod poses with 
his 2-year-old son, Charles, at the light 
station in 1928. McLeod was keeper 
from 1926 to 1930, when he died. 
Below: The boathouse at Point Re¬ 
treat. 




Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


69 































Eldred Rock Light Station 


Although Eldred Rock Light Station was the last major light station commissioned in Alaska during 
the surge in lighthouse construction of 1902-06, it is the oldest original structure still standingin Alaska. 

Eldred Rock Light Station is located on the southeasterly part of Eldred Rock in Lynn Canal, about 
50 miles north of Juneau. Adopting plans and specifications in May 1905, the Lighthouse Board 
immediately ordered construction by hired labor. The station was to be completed by November 1,1905. 
(AR 1905: 173) However, weather conditions hampered work, such that the station was not completed 
and lighted until June 1, 1906. (AR 1906: 146) 

The fourth-order light (2,100 c.p.), 91 feet above mean high water, was shown from an octagonal, gray 
lantern and tower, which projected from the apex of a pyramidal-roofed, two-story, octagonal fog-signal 
building. The lower story of the building was concrete; the upper, wood. 



70 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


















Opposite page: Eldred 
Rock keeper Sam Olsen 
and his cat take a boat 
ride on October 5,1927. 
Left: The light station as 
it looked in August 
1988. Eldred Rock Light 
Station is the oldest 
original lighthouse 
structure in Alaska. 


The height of the structure was 56 feet; its diameter, 52 feet. The fog signal was a first-class, 
automatic siren. About 150 feet northerly of the lighthouse stood a white, wooden boathouse, derrick, 
and tramway. (LL 1908: 108; LL 1909: 46=47; USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 

Unlike others in Alaska, Eldred Rock Light Station was never rebuilt. (Holland 1972: 191). 
However, improvements were made throughout the years. In 1939, a radio telephone was installed. (AG 
1939: 37) 

In 1973, the Eldred Rock Light Station was unmanned and downgraded to a minor light. At that 
time, the light’s sound signal and radio beacon were discontinued. The light characteristic was changed 
to a flashing white light every six seconds. (USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) The station is located on 2.4 
acres of a lighthouse reservation. 

When the station was unmanned, the Chilkat Valley News in Haines wrote, "Haines has been made 
more isolated than ever before from its nearest neighbor to the south. A cold, lifeless lighthouse stands 
guard amidst the whims of wind and weather in Lynn Canal. The most important facet of this facility 
is gone: the human observer." 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


71 






















Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


73 
















74 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 














Opposite page: Erosion 
approaches the original 
Cape Hinchinbrook, 1933. 
Left: Construction of the 
new lighthouse is nearly 
complete in 1934. 


Cape Hinchinbrook Light Station 

Cape Hinchinbrook Light Station marks the entrance to Prince William Sound, 55 miles south of 
Valdez. It is the only principal light in Southcentral Alaska waters. Recognized as early as 1900 as the 
site for a lighthouse, it was not until 1906, when steamer Oregon was wrecked on Hinchinbrook Island, 
that Congress authorized construction of the light station. 

Although the Act of 1906 stipulated $125,000 for the light station, Congress refused to appropriate 
the full amount at once. Instead, $25,000 was appropriated in 1906, $50,000 in 1907, and the final sum 
in 1908. Thus, construction did not begin until April 1909 by contractor A.B. Lewis of Standard Building 
Company, Seattle. (AR1906:146; AR 1909:30;CDASeptember3,1909:1; CDA October 18,1910:1;CDA 
May 13, 1910: 1) Residents of Cordova believed that the light station would be "the finest equipped and 
most expensive light on the Alaska coast." (CDA September 10, 1909: 5) 

Construction began with about 40 men immediately after Congress appropriated the total amount 
for the lighthouse, but work proceeded slowly. Rough weather interfered with communication and 
transportation facilities. A scow filled with about $12,000 worth of materials was washed away by a 
storm; it was subsequently discovered by two Indians, Willie Johnson and Johnny Paul, on the beach of 
Montague Island and recovered by officials. (CDA September 11, 1909: 8) 

By September 1909, work was called to a halt because of the late season. Only the tramway from 
the wharf to the structures and the concrete walls of the main structures to the first story were completed. 
(AR 1910:50; CDA June 14,1910:1) A temporary fixed-white light, 192 feet above water, was established 
on the second floor of the building for the winter. Because the light required attention every eight days, 
one keeper and his wife remained at the site. (CDA September 13, 1909: 1) 

In June 1910, about 30 men returned to Cape Hinchinbrook and began construction. (AR 1910: 50) 
Work progressed swiftly, prompting C. W. Leick, ch ief draughtsman of lighthouse construction in Alaska, 
to observe, "In all his experience, he never saw more substantial preparations and arrangements for the 
best of service than is going on at Cape Hinchinbrook." (CDA September 10, 1909: 5) The project was 
finally completed and the station lighted November 15,1910. Total expenditures amounted to $100,323 
considerably less than expected. (AR 1911: 54 ) The product was, as one newspaper reported, a 
"practically indestructible" lighthouse. (CDA May 13, 1910: 1) 

The light and fog-signal building was a two-story, octagonal structure (52 feet in diameter) of 
reinforced concrete with a pyramidal frame roof covered with asbestos shingles. It was 47 feet, 3 inches 
high. (CDA September 7, 1910: 1) An octagonal tower of concrete rose above the building's center to a 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


75 












Cape Hinchinbrook's boathouse and launch. 


height of about seven feet; it supported a cast-iron deck and a first-order vertical bar lantern. (AR 1913: 
94) The lantern was 12 feet in diameter and 18 feet in height, constructed principally of plate glass. It 
flashed a white light with an intensity of about 20,000 candlepower, visible at a distance of 20 to 25 miles. 
Although the light was technically a third order, improvements reportedly gave it the same power as a 
first-order. (CDA September 10, 1909: 5) The light was displayed 235 feet above sea level. (CDA 
September 10, 1909: 5; CDA September 7, 1910: 1; LL 1916: 138-9) 

From one side of the main structure, part of the fog-signal building extended as a bay about eight feet. 
It was a one-story concrete structure without shingles. (AR 1913: 94) The fog signal or air view was 
operated by two coal oil engines and an air compressor. In addition to fog-signal apparatus, the lower 
floor of the main structure contained modern baths and lavatories, an engine room, workshop, store 
rooms, and a tank room for storing oil. The second floor contained living quarters for four keepers. 
Included were four bedrooms, sitting and dining room, kitchen and pantry. Considered "thoroughly 
modern in every respect," the entire building was heated by a hot water plant. A concrete cistern with 
the capacity of 15,000 gallons of water was located underground to prevent freezing in winter. (CDA 
September 10, 1909: 5; Holland 1974: 193) 

Other features of the station included a carpenter shop and storehouse, engine houses, boathouse, 
and oilhouse, all of which were connected by concrete walks and tramway (AR 1913: 94) The oilhouse, 
about 40 feet from the lighthouse, was a fire-proof structure (12' x 30') in which paints and the main oil 
supply were stored. The carpenter shop and storehouse contained a complete set of carpenter and 
machinist tools, as well as an adequate supply of lumber and necessary materials. At the foot of the cliff 
was a large derrick for hoisting boats and supplies. A tramway led from the mouth of Lennon Creek to 
the lighthouse. Later, in 1931, a six-mile trail was blazed by the U.S. Forest Service between the light 
station and the protected waters of English Bay at Port Etches, where emergency boat landings could 
be made. (CDA September 10, 1909: 5; AR 1930: 41; AW March 27. 1931: AR 1931: 21, 25) 

Cape Hinchinbrook Light Station provided invaluable service to commerce in Prince William Sound. 
Fishermen, steamship lines, barges loaded with ore from the world's largest copper mines at Kennecott, 
and shipsbearingoil from Katalla, were all aided by the new lighthouse. This was no less true for officials 
of the Lighthouse Bureau. In 1912, the lighthouse tender Armeria struck a submerged and uncharted 
rock off Cape Hinchinbrook while delivering coal to the station. It was the keepers who rescued the 
mariners from the totally wrecked tender. (AR 1913: 1920) Due to the significant rise in marine 
commerce about Prince William Sound, and in consideration of the prevalent dense fog about Cape 
Hinchinbrook, a more powerful fog signal (diaphone) was installed at the station in 1922-23. (AR 1923: 
46; AR 1922: 32) 

However, much as people may have believed, in 1910, that the light station was indestructible, 


76 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 















events soon proved different. Due to earthquakes in 1927 and 1928, the 180-foot cliff on which the 
lighthouse was located progressively caved in. The Lighthouse Bureau decided to build a new lighthouse 
at another location on solid rock. The former lighthouse was considered to be of "obsolete design" and 
its lack of reinforced concrete prevented moving to another site. In 1931, when Congress authorized 
reconstruction of the light station with an appropriation of $30,000, the construction project began 
immediately. (AW March 27, 1931: 3; AR 1931: 1, 35; AG 1931: 90) The project was completed in 1934, 
at a cost of $91,793. The new lighthouse was about 130 feet from the old site. (Snow 1955: 276; AR 1931: 
21, 35; ARSC 1934: 115) 

Located on solid rock, the new light and fog-signal building, occupying about 1,722 square feet of 
ground, was a one-story, reinforced concrete structure (44' X 54'), finished with Medusa paint. The 
square tower projected 67 feet from a corner of the structure. Using the lens and lantern of the old 
lighthouse, the original light's intensity was maintained at 200,000 candlepower. 

The original fog-horn apparatus was replaced with two-tone diaphones. Accommodations were 
provided for three keepers without families. Fuel tanks, radio tower, several one-story buildings 
surrounded the lighthouse. A tramway connected the main structure with the storage house. (AR 1931: 
35; AG 1934: 27; AC 1939: 37; ARSC 1939: 130; Gibbs 1955: 212; Snow 1955: 276: USCG January 15, 
1974: p.c.) . 

The station includes 5,000 acres of a lighthouse reservation. The station was unmanned in the 
summer of 1974. (USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.; USCP 1954: 99) 



Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


77 





78 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 






Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


79 












Cape St. Elias Light Station 


Subsequent to being named by Vitus Bering in July 1714, Mount St. Elias has long played an 
important role in the history of Alaska navigation. Yet it was not until the late 1900s that the Lighthouse 
Board seriously applied to Congress for an appropriation to construct the Cape St. Elias Light Station, 
60 miles southeast of Cordova. In fact, there was no attempt at all to place a minor light near this 
important landmark, widely regarded as "one of the most dangerous points along the entire coast" until 
1912. Then, however, the lighthouse tender Armeria was wrecked off Cape Hinchinbrook while en route 
to install a temporary light buoy. (CDA September 25,1912:4) Coinciding in time with increased federal 
activity in Alaska, particularly the construction of The Alaska Railroad, Congress finally approved a 
light station at Cape St. Elias and appropriated $115,000 for the purpose on October 22, 1913. (TCDT 
December 30, 1915: 3) 

Following Congress' approval, there was apparent uncertainty regarding the need for a light station 
at Cape St. Elias. Some residents of Seattle, for example, petitioned the Department of Commerce not 
to build the station, arguing instead the need for a lightship about 1.5 miles off the cape to mark the 
dangerous Southeast Rock. The Department of Commerce rejected the appeal with the view that a 
lightship would require more maintenance; it did agree to place a gas lighted buoy on the rock. (CDA 
July 25, 1914:4) 

By 1914, survey work for the light station wascompleted and a temporary acetylene blinker light was 
placed on the cape. Construction began in 1915, and by the end of the season, much of the work was 
completed. (AR 1915: 58; CDA June 23, 1914: 1) With funds nearly exhausted, Cape St. Elias Light 
Station, known to the keepers as "Big Baldy", was finally lighted on September 16, 1916. (TCDT July 
26,1916: 4;TCDTJuly 30,1916:4; Holland 1972:193) Al3-tonbuoy, equipped with an acetylene blinker 
and a whistle and submarine signal bell, was anchored on Southeast Rock on May 12,1916. (TCDT May 
20, 1916: 1) 

Cape St. Elias Light Station was modern in every aspect and was the pride of the Lighthouse Service. 
The light was shown 85 feet above water, from a white, square concrete tower (12' x 12’ X 55’). (Snow 


80 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 



















Opposite page and above: Construction of 
Cape St. Elias Light Station is underway in July 
1916. Left: Ted Pedersen was the third assis¬ 
tant keeper of the light station from1927 to 
1929. He returned for one year as the second 
assistant in 1937. 


1955:276; USCG January 15,1974: p.c.) The light 
and fog-signal apparatus was the latest model, on 
exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Expo¬ 
sition at San Francisco before installation at the 
new station. (TCDT January 6,1914:4)The tower 
extended from the corner of a reinforced concrete, 
fog-signal building (25' X 36'). Other facilities 
included a two-story, reinforced concrete keepers' 
dwelling (30' x 35'); boat and hoist houses; and a 
storage building. (TCDT January 6, 1916: 4; AR 
1916: 55) The U.S. Signal Corps installed a wire¬ 
less station at the cape and placed it in the charge 
of the three lighthouse keepers, thereby enabling 
"the people of Katalla to learn of the approach of a 
vessel and prepare to meet it." (TCDT June 9, 
1916: 1) In October 1927, the station became the 
second in Alaska to be equipped with radio beacon 
facilities. (AG 1928: 63; AR 1928: 3) 

Never rebuilt, the Cape St. Elias Light Station 
is situated on 490 acres of a lighthouse reserva¬ 
tion. It was unmanned and downgraded to a minor 
light in the summer of 1974. (USCG January 15, 
1974: p.c.) 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


81 
















4 



Cape Spencer Light in the 1970s 


Cape Spencer Light Station 

Cape Spencer Light Station is located on a small island at the entrance to Cross Sound, 70 miles west 
of Juneau. It was first lighted in 1913 with a small un watched acetylene beacon, 90 feet above water. 
(USCP 1917: 231; Gibbs 1955: 209-10) Due to repeated recommendations by commercial interests and 
officers of the Lighthouse Service, beginning as early as 1906, Congress finally authorized funds for con¬ 
struction of the light station in 1923. (AG 1925: 53; AR 1906:146=47; AR 1924: 36) Construction began 
in May 1924. The project was essentially completed on December 11, 1925, when the station was first 
lighted. Total expenditures were $174,881. (AR 1924: 36; AR 1926: 26-27; CDT May 13, 1925: 5; AR 
1927: 25) 

Displaying a flashing white light (110,000 c.p.), 105 feet above water, the lighthouse is on the out¬ 
ermost large islet south of the cape. The 14-by-14-foot tower rose 25 feet from the center of the flat roof 
of a single-story, reinforced concrete, fog-signal building (51' X 62'), which also provided quarters for 
keepers. Other structures included a steel derrick and gasoline hoist, one small air hoist, boathouse, 
wharf, blacksmith shop, two hoisthouses, a landing platform, and a tramway leadingfrom the fog-signal 
building to the landing platform. (AR 1927: 25; Gibbs 1955: 209-10; USCG October 7, 1974: p.c.) 

On July 14,1926, a radio beacon with a range of200 miles or more was first operated at Cape Spencer; 
it was the first facility of its kind in Alaska. (AR 1927: 3) Although light intensity was later upgraded 
to 20,000 candlepower, the station has not been subjected to major alterations. The original buildings 
still stand on 3,840 acres of the station, although the light itself was unmanned in 1974. (USCG 1957: 
2: Deane 1938: 28; Holland 1972: 193; USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 


82 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 





















Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


83 


















Cape Decision Light Station 



Located on the southwesterly extremity of Kuiu Island, 63 miles south of Sitka, Cape Decision Light 
Station was the last established in Alaska by the Lighthouse Bureau. With a view to commerce resulting 
from large numbers of salmon canneries, herring salteries, and reduction plants on the coasts of 
Chatham Strait, Sumner Strait, and Prince of Wales Island, the Lighthouse Bureau seriously pressed 
for the new station in the late 1920s. The bureau argued that larger vessels were plying the Inside Pas¬ 
sage and could not pass 
through Wrangell Narrows. 

Most vessels were thus 
forced to make a detour near 
Cape Decision. 

Also, an increasing 
number of deep-sea fishing 
vessels passed Cape Deci¬ 
sion to and from the sea by 
way of Cape Ommaney. 

Considering the fog condi¬ 
tions, strong tidal currents, 
and numerous off-lying 
rocks, of which mariners 
were warned by an ineffec¬ 
tive acetylene light on Span¬ 
ish Islands, it was impera¬ 
tive that a light station on 
Cape Decision be con¬ 
structed. (AR 1925: 37; AR 
1928: 42) 

With Congress' initial 
appropriation of $59,400 in 
July 1929, construction of 
the lighthouse began in Sep¬ 
tember. Inadequate funds 
and weather conditions 
slowed the work. Not until 
March 15, 1932, was the 
project completed and the 
station lighted. Total cost 
of the light station was 
$158,000. (AG 1929: 65; 

AR 1929: 39; AR 1930: 4, 

30,40; AW March 27, 1931: 

3; AR 1932: 18; Snow 1955: 

275) 


A civil engineer checks 
the structure of Cape De¬ 
cision Lighthouse in 
1988. 


84 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 























Left: During the 1930s, all boats and 
supplies were hoisted to the light 
station by derrick. Below: The sta¬ 
tion's two boats and boathouse. 
Bottom: The boathouse burned on 
October 11, 1989. 




The station provided quarters for three resident keepers. The lighthouse structure was a one-story, 
reinforced concrete building (46' X 47') with a square tower (12' X 12’ X 40') rising from the center of the 
roof. The flashing electric light (350,000 c.p.) was shown 96 feet above water or 75 feet above land. The 
station included a first-class fog-signal (two tyfons mounted on the roof) and a Class A radio beacon. 
(Holland 1972: 193-94; AG 1929: 65; AW March 27, 1931: 3; USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 

The original structures still remain on 216 acres of the lighthouse reservation. The light was 
unmanned in 1974. (USCG January 15, 1974: p.c.) 

In October 1989, the station's boathouse was destroyed by fire as a result of human error. The fire 
also damaged some of the station's tram and dock. 


Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


85 

















BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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CORDOVA DAILY ALASKAN 

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1 October 1915-15 August 1916, 3 January 1917-25 May 1925. DEANE, Leslie 
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GIBBS, James A. 

Sentinels of the North Pacific: The Story of Pacific Coast Lighthouses and Lightships. Portland, 
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GRUENING, Ernest 

The State of Alaska. New York: Random House, 1968. HOLLAND, Francis Ross, Jr. 

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"The Death Valley of the Pacific," LII (March 11, 1918), 637-38. 

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Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 



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Lighthouses And other aids to navigation in Alaska History 


87 





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


0 012 372 843 9 


Scotch Cap Light Station Keepers 
Charles Shepardson, Barney Lokken & Oscar Lindberg 
1927 




















